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At the Crossroads

Campaigns

Call for Debate

Wednesday, 04 August 2010 23:41


Send an email to ABC's Q and A, SBS's Insight or other of our listed current affairs programs using our guide to issues, and help put pressure on for sexuality & gender equality to be considered as priorities for debate.

At this point in the election campaigns, the issues that are debated are crucial to applying pressure to political parties, as well as persuading people how they should vote in the election.



POINTS TO MAKE

  • This election I will be deciding my vote based on the sexuality & gender policies of the political parties

  • So far, none of the major parties have made any significant commitment to same-sex marriage, gender identity recognition or anti-discrimination legislation on the basis of sexuality and gender

  • I want to hear the political parties explain their positions



SUBMIT YOUR LETTER / REQUEST

ABC show where politicians are questioned by political analysts and audience members on topical issues. You can submit a question to be asked via their website.


Insight
SBS show Insight puts key public figures on the spot about issues that affect ordinary people. Its a great chance for people to have their views heard. You can debate issues covered online after the shows, with politicians often staying to answer questions.




SOME KEY POINTS ABOUT EQUALITY

Relationship Recognition

  • Civil unions are not a replacement for marriage - it is a message that gay people aren't good enough for marriage to create a seperate institution just to avoid letting them marry

  • Marriage is not a religious institution - it existed before and throughout many religions, and in Australia you can get married without having any religious beliefs at all, and regardless of your faith

  • All the latest polls show Australians overwhelmingly in support of same-sex marriage, a minority of discriminatory people should not decide whether others' love is sufficient for marriage

  • It is time our government listened to its people, instead of trading our rights for the votes of conservatives

Gender Identity Recognition

  • Transgendered and Intersex people have been ignored in our society and by our governments

  • The Human Right's Commission Report Sex Files showed that people of diverse sex or gender are discriminated against across a variety of societal institutions

  • Our government should implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission, including:
    1. Marital status should not be a relevant consideration as to whether or not a person can request a change in legal sex.
    2. The definition of sex affirmation treatment should be broadened so that surgery is not the only criteria for a change in legal sex.
    3. The evidentiary requirements for the legal recognition of sex should be relaxed by reducing the quantity of medical evidence required and making greater allowance for people to self-identify their sex.
    4. The special needs of children and young people who wish to amend their documents and records should be considered.
    5. A person over the age of 18 years should be able to choose to have an unspecified sex noted on documents and records.
    6. Information on the process and criteria for the legal recognition of sex should be easily accessible and user-friendly.
    7. Documents of identity and processes required for the legal recognition of sex should not reveal personal information about a person’s past identity in relation to sex.
    8. Laws and processes for the legal recognition of sex should use empowering terminology.
    9. Where possible, sex or gender should be removed from government forms and documents.


Anti-Discrimination Legislation

  • Australia doesn't have nationally consistent and overarching anti-discrimination legislation for sexuality & gender identity

  • People who are discriminated against under Federal arena's have no avenue of complaint resolution, as without anti-discrimination the Human Rights Commission has no power to enforce resolutions

  • Over 80% of Australians polled support anti-discrimination legislation

 

Campaigns - Action

Wednesday, 21 July 2010 19:50

Become a Committee Member!


We need new committee members to get involved in the actions and campaigns of Gay & Lesbian Equality for the remainder of 2010, and on into 2011! Several of GALE's committee members are moving on soon, some after a decade of work getting legislative change for people of diverse sexuality & gender.

We'll provide mentorship, practical experience and support in learning how to lobby and make valuable campaigns that achieve real action. What we want from you is your passion, your ideas, and your own unique skills.

Your level of involvement is up to you - whether its a few hours a month, or several hours each week.

Find out more


Easy Actions for Equality

We're committed to providing the information and tools community members need to be able to make valuable contributions to the campaign for full equality. Thus, we've endeavoured to provide actions that are quick, easy and effective!

Share the action

Don't let your actions go unnoticed. After taking action, post about it to your social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) or to your blog, with a link back to this page so that others can take action too!

Campaigns - Action Alerts

Write a Letter to the Editor

Wednesday, 09 June 2010 22:20

Writing a Letter to the Editor


Local politicians pay a lot of attention what is published in community newspapers, because they reflect what the community is concerned about. By taking the time to write a short letter once every couple of weeks, you can make same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination legislation and gender identity recognition the key topics for our communities in the lead up to the election. We know this works – Gay and Lesbian Equality committee members have kept a regular letters debate going in the Perth Voice for a few months. 

Ashley's Story
Ashley is an ActNow Intern who wrote a letter to the editor about an issue that mattered to her. She wrote about her experience so that others could see how positive this simple action was. 


KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER MAKING IN YOUR LETTER

Relationship Recognition
  • Civil unions are not a replacement for marriage - it is a message that gay people aren't good enough for marriage to create a seperate institution just to avoid letting them marry

  • Marriage is not a religious institution - it existed before and throughout many religions, and in Australia you can get married without having any religious beliefs at all, and regardless of your faith

  • All the latest polls show Australians overwhelmingly in support of same-sex marriage, a minority of discriminatory people should not decide whether others' love is sufficient for marriage

  • It is time our government listened to its people, instead of trading our rights for the votes of conservatives

Gender Identity Recognition
  • Transgendered and Intersex people have been ignored in our society and by our governments

  • The Human Right's Commission Report Sex Files showed that people of diverse sex or gender are discriminated against across a variety of societal institutions

  • Our government should implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission, including:
    1. Marital status should not be a relevant consideration as to whether or not a person can request a change in legal sex.
    2. The definition of sex affirmation treatment should be broadened so that surgery is not the only criteria for a change in legal sex.
    3. The evidentiary requirements for the legal recognition of sex should be relaxed by reducing the quantity of medical evidence required and making greater allowance for people to self-identify their sex.
    4. The special needs of children and young people who wish to amend their documents and records should be considered.
    5. A person over the age of 18 years should be able to choose to have an unspecified sex noted on documents and records.
    6. Information on the process and criteria for the legal recognition of sex should be easily accessible and user-friendly.
    7. Documents of identity and processes required for the legal recognition of sex should not reveal personal information about a person’s past identity in relation to sex.
    8. Laws and processes for the legal recognition of sex should use empowering terminology.
    9. Where possible, sex or gender should be removed from government forms and documents.


Anti-Discrimination Legislation
  • Australia doesn't have nationally consistent and overarching anti-discrimination legislation for sexuality & gender identity

  • People who are discriminated against under Federal arena's have no avenue of complaint resolution, as without anti-discrimination the Human Rights Commission has no power to enforce resolutions

  • Over 80% of Australians polled support anti-discrimination legislation


A Guide to Writing a Letter to the Editor

Letters that are intended for publication should usually be drafted more carefully. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Make one point (or at most two) in your letter or fax. State the point clearly, ideally in the first sentence. 

  • Make your letter timely. If you are not addressing a specific article, editorial or letter that recently appeared in the paper you are writing to, then try to tie the issue you want to write about to a recent event. 

  • Familiarize yourself with the coverage and editorial position of the paper to which you are writing. Refute or support specific statements, address relevant facts that are ignored, but do avoid blanket attacks on the media in general or the newspaper in particular. 

  • Check the letter specifications of the newspaper to which you are writing. Length and format requirements vary from paper to paper. (Generally, roughly two short paragraphs are ideal.) You also must include your name, signature, address and phone number. 

  • Look at the letters that appear in your paper. Is a certain type of letter usually printed? Support your facts. If the topic you address is controversial, consider sending documentation along with your letter. But don't overload the editors with too much info. 

  • Keep your letter brief. Type it whenever possible. Find others to write letters when possible. This will show that other individuals in the community are concerned about the issue. If your letter doesn't get published, perhaps someone else's on the same topic will. 

  • Monitor the paper for your letter. If your letter has not appeared within a week or two, follow up with a call to the editorial department of the newspaper. 

  • Write to different sections of the paper when appropriate. Sometimes the issue you want to address is relevant to the lifestyle, book review or other section of the paper. An increasing number of broadcast news programs (60 Minutes, All Things Considered, etc.) also solicit and broadcast "letters to the editor." Don't forget these outlets. 

  • Always sign your letters as an individual or representative of a community group.
Source: From FAIR's Media Activism Kit. Originally posted on the FAIR web site. 

Campaigns - Action

Call / Email your MP

Wednesday, 09 June 2010 20:50

Call / Email your Member of Parliament

Despite popular belief, members of Parliament don’t get enough calls or emails about issues that are important to people. In May 2010 thousands of GetUP! Members called their local MP about climate change, with members of parliament getting more than 100 calls in a day – more calls than they usually get in a month! The Prime Minister had to directly respond to the Labor members on the issue.

Imagine if they get regular calls about this issue! 40% of the electorates in WA are marginal seats – meaning it would only take a small swing in the vote to unseat the sitting member. This means that in a federal election year political parties are particularly worried about what Western Australians think.


Step 1

Identify which Federal Electorate you are in and write the contact details down for your local member.

CLICK HERE to find out which electorate you are in

CLICK HERE to get the contact details for your member in the House of Representatives

CLICK HERE to get the contact details for the WA Senate Representatives
NOTE: All of these Senators are your representatives in Parliament, so give them all a call / email!

Step 2

Read the information in the Taking on the Future section of the website, and make some dot points about the things that you would like to say.

Step 3

Note down:

Who I am:
What suburb are you from? What's your profession? Are you a mother, brother, friend?

Why I'm calling / emailing:
How does a lack of relationship recognition, how does discrimination, or how does the inability of gender diverse people to get their identity recognised, affect you or your friends / family?

What I want:
What you want is

  • Federal Anti-Discrimination Legislation, 
  • Same-sex Marriage, or 
  • The Implementation of the Sex Files Report recommendations

What I want you to do: 

  • We want the office to at least take a message for the politician, and to give you a formal response. You will need to give your details.
  • We want the Member to tell their colleagues in their party that they got a call / email from you about these issues
  • If they're supportive, will they mention public support for these reforms to the media - in a doorstop interview perhaps?
  • Would they be willing to ask a question at Question time?
 
Step 4
Make the call or Send the email!

Making a call is very easy, and you will usually be greeted by a friendly staff member who will take your message and pass it on to the politician. All of these messages are passed on, and if the Member receives numerous calls over a few weeks, they know that they have to do something on the issue or risk losing voters in their electorate.

Phone calls are always the most effective, however if you are really not confident making a call, send an email. Emails will be treated with the same due diligence as any call.

Campaigns - Action

 Download a copy of the full publication:

 "At the Crossroads: A roadmap to full equality"

 PDF: Published June 2010


 Request a hard copy:
 Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

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