editorial

Welcome to the August 2008 issue of the OGT. It’s hard to believe that

we’re now into the second half of the year – the months just seem to be

racing away. I hope you’re all managing to stay warm, dry and cheerful

through the winter (especially for those of you who are new to Dunedin and

come from more temperate climates). Actually, it hasn’t been too bad to date

as far as frosts and snow go, but who knows what’s still in store for us! (And,

now that I’ve written that we’ll probably get a huge snowfall!)

The cover for this issue features several works from the Gay and Lesbian

Art Exhibition held at the Community Gallery in Dunedin at the end of July.

It’s great when people in the community organise events for the rest of us

to enjoy and it was wonderful to attend the opening of the exhibition, along

with two little art “connoisseurs”! Tobias was drawn to Angie Brett’s painting

“PRIDE” because he loves rainbows (he was born into the right sort of family,

wasn’t he?!), while Russell really liked the shapes and the space-look of

“Alpha and Omega” by Megan Schmidt. (They both also loved the selection

of lollies that were part of the refreshments!) A huge thank you to the

organising committee who made this exhibition possible and thanks also to

the artists who submitted their work, everyone who visited the exhibition and

those who bought works.

And, speaking about events that are being organised for the community,

the OUSA Queer Support team is running a “Queer Awareness Week” (August

4-8) which includes presentations, panel discussions and a documentary

screening. Unfortunately a number of these events will have happened before

the OGT reaches the streets/cafes/letterboxes etc., but if you pick up and

read your OGT early in August you could still contact OUSA Queer Support

and find out about the events that are happening. (Contact details for OUSA

Queer Support can be found on Page 12 of the OGT.) The last event (which

is taking place on Friday August 8 in the evening) is a screening of “Through

Rainbow Coloured Glasses”, a documentary about the Christchurch queer

community during the last 50 years or so. I’ve read great things about this

film (which opened Pride Week in Christchurch earlier this year) and so I

would encourage you to go along and check it out. See the “What’s On”

column on Page 12 of the paper for more details.

Another exciting upcoming event is the “Evening With Chris Brickell” on

Tuesday August 12 which is being sponsored by the local Ascent group (see

Page 10 for more details). Dr Chris Brickell, a lecturer in Gender Studies

at the University of Otago, is the author of the book Mates & Lovers: A

History Of Gay New Zealand which was published recently. This book is being

heralded as a significant record of gay history in New Zealand – a work that is

very scholarly but also very readable and includes a large number of photos

(see Page 5 for a review of Mates & Lovers).

And, finally, there’s the general election for us all to be thinking about.

Two pages of this issue of the OGT have been dedicated to things political and

there’s information here about some political parties’ rainbow policies and

candidates. Make sure you get out on election day and VOTE!

Tor Devereux, Editor

NEW ANTI-BULLYING INITIATIVES FOR NEW ZEALAND SCHOOLS

Early in July the Minister of Education, Chris Carter, announced several new anti-bullying initiatives for New Zealand schools which are designed to improve the safety of all students, including LGBT students. The Education Review Office (ERO) will now be responsible for reviewing the anti-bullying

programmes that schools have in place and there is an expectation that these programmes will address specific types of bullying, including homophobic bullying.

Education Minister Chris Carter today launched a range of initiatives aimed at making schools safer for students and to ensure schools have antibullying programmes in place.

“These initiatives are aimed at focusing schools on this issue and changing school culture to encourage zero-tolerance to bullying,” said Chris Carter.

“Following a number of recent high profile incidents involving bullying, I instructed officials to come up with a range of initiatives that involve new resources for developing strategies to combat bullying in schools. These initiatives include web-based resources, student materials and new action by the Education Review Office.

“ERO will now focus attention on individual schools to ensure that they have strategies in place to combat bullying. A practical resource has been developed by students to raise awareness of the importance of creating a safe environment at school.”

Primary and secondary students have designed resource cards called Step Up, Be Safe that the Ministry of Education will distribute to all state and state-integrated schools.

“Every student from Year 3 will receive this personal information card informing them about

ways to keep safe in their own school environment.  This resource can be used by teachers to discuss

with students the negative impacts of bullying and  what can be done about it,” said Chris Carter.

From Term 3 this year ERO will ask schools whether incidents of particular types of bullying have occurred in their school. By specifically asking about bullying, as part of the formal review processes that schools undertake every three years, Chris Carter is confident that schools without targeted anti-bullying programmes will now be encouraged to develop processes and procedures that make their schools safer places for all their students.

Parents and families will now be able to access information on how to deal with instances of bullying through the Ministry of Education’s TeamUp website (www.teamup.govt.nz). The new pages will help parents to connect the Step Up, Be Safe resource with action they can take to support their children.

The Minister also welcomes an independent evaluation on school safety by the Children’s Commissioner. The report will investigate the nature and extent of school violence and experiences of bullying for New Zealand students.

“These new initiatives are about ensuring that our schools are safer places for students. As Minister of Education I know that all parents want their children to be safe at school and not subject to bullying or harassment,” Chris Carter said.

ERO - new processes for reviewing schools’ anti-bullying strategies.

Q. What will ERO be doing differently?

A. As well as its customary investigations into safety in every school review, ERO will include two new questions in the Health, Safety and Welfare section of its Board Assurance Statement:

The board:

1) currently provides anti-bullying programmes

Please circle: Yes/No/Unsure

2. Anti-bullying programmes include a focus on:

(i) racist bullying

(ii) bullying of students with special needs

(iii) homophobic bullying

(iv) sexual harassment

Please circle: Yes/No/Unsure

Where a school checks “no” or “unsure” in either of 1) or 2) ERO follows this

up with the school.

Q. How will ERO report on what schools are doing?

A. ERO would report in the Compliance (safety) section of the school’s public

ERO report:

“In order to improve current practice the school should provide anti-bullying

programmes that include a focus on .....“

Media Statement from OUT THERE! in Response to the New Anti-Bullying Initiatives, 3 July 2008

Today’s announcement from Chris Carter, Minister of Education, that the Education Review Office (ERO) will now be required to check that schools have specific strategies in place to address homophobia and other forms of bullying is being welcomed by the national youth development programme OUT THERE!

OUT THERE! is a national youth development project of Rainbow Youth and the New Zealand AIDS Foundation committed to positive youth development of same-sex-attracted and transgender young people. “The majority of schools have failed students by tolerating homophobia that marginalises gay and lesbian students. This initiative now sends a clear message that homophobia is something that schools must address as part of creating an inclusive and positive learning environment,” said Nathan Brown, National Coordinator of OUT THERE!

“Words like ‘homo’ and ‘faggot’ are heard in schools and classrooms hundreds of times a day. Homophobic bullying and harassment has been one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination. It is fantastic to see our education system finally starting to accept that something needs to be done,” said Brown.

Studies suggest that schools have a lot of work to do in terms of p roviding a safe environment for same-sex-attracted students. A University of Otago study in 2003 found only 5% of students and 7% of staff from over 100 high schools believed gay, lesbian or bisexual students would feel safe at their schools.

An ERO review of sexuality education in secondary schools last year found that only 20% of schools gave students the opportunity to explore issues such as homophobia, acceptance and diversity. The Youth 2000 study found that around one in twelve high school students are non-heterosexual and more than two-thirds who reported being attracted to the same or both  sexes had not told anyone about their same-sex orientation.

Fruit Cocktail

by Arthur Wooten (USA: Alyson Books, 2007)

Reviewed by Pauline Butler Nicholson

“Curtis is 45, gay, HIV positive, a successful writer and a physically buff New Yorker looking for love. All he wants is someone smart, sexy, sensitive, a single superman with a sense of humour.” Now WHY is this difficult?

Arthur Wooten’s novel Fruit Cocktail carries on from where his debut novel On Picking Fruit ended. Curtis Jenkins is still searching for his Mr Right.

In this wonderful, entertaining story, Curtis has launched his non-fiction book 101 Ways To Collide Into Your Gay Soul Mate. He has to overcome his self-doubts about whether he was the right man to write this book when he himself can’t find his soul mate. Upon being questioned at a book launch, though, he stumbles through his answer that he’s tested all the options mentioned in the book from online dating, gay spiritual retreats and, most importantly, creative visualization. Of course, a good excuse to shorten an interview helps.

You’ll have to read it to find out what happens when margaritas and a cross dressing party are mixed, when best friend Quin gets a surprise from his father and what DOES go on during Gay Nude Yoga? If that doesn’t tweak your curiosity then what about how Curtis learns that, when it comes to the marketing of his work, “all press is good press” - thanks to the help of his mother’s open sexuality and his own nakedness!

Arthur Wooten has put a bit of himself in the characters with a dash of spice.  He’s injected a lot of humour into the crazy situations of the ultimate bad date and life itself but there are also some poignant moments to bring you back to reality.

Fruit Cocktail was released at the end of 2007 and can be purchased through your local Whitcoulls store or Amazon.com

Hollinghurst’s “Highlights”

by Mike Wooliscroft

A friend recently did me a very good turn by alerting me to a short story of Alan Hollinghurst which appeared in the recently published 100th issue of Granta: The Magazine Of New Writing.

Hollinghurst is known for his fine novels especially The Swimming Pool Library, The Folding Star and The Line of Beauty.  The TV adaptation of The Line of Beauty recently played on TV One, but many of my acquaintances missed seeing it. I am pleased to say that the DVD is now readily available through Dunedin Public Libraries and retail

outlets.

Hollinghurst’s entry in the celebratory issue of Granta is a delicious and rather wry account of a gay couple going to Rome for the weekend. Colin, an older man, is accompanied by his younger and rather insouciant partner, Archie. Colin is keen to introduce Archie to the architecture of the city and has his mind on higher cultural things, while also hoping that the weekend will provide an opportunity for sexual engagement with Archie, something which has been for too long lacking. But Archie has his mind on shopping and texting his friends  both newly-made and old.

The disparity between the two men and between their hopes and reality is cringingly, amusingly and wryly conveyed. This is a gem from a master.

Perhaps Hollinghurst, who takes between four and six years to write his novels, which are among the best of modern gay creative writing, will continue now and then to produce other short stories to keep our appetites whetted while waiting for the next major work, for surely there will be more.  Granta 100 is available through Dunedin Public Libraries and good bookshops such as UBS.

k.d. lang up close ...

by Gay Crombie and Sue Courtney

May 5th 2008. A cool Monday night in Wellington. The Michael Fowler Centre. The atmosphere was one of anticipation and excitement. The guru of lesbian song. The one and only k.d. lang.

The crowd was eager to catch the first glimpse of this sweetheart of song. Everyone was filled with that all promising feeling of a night to remember and in an arena where all like souls are about to participate together, there was an air of camaraderie and friendship. People chatted together or to those alongside them, not as strangers, but as if we were all long lost friends awaiting our icon.

And then, that moment everyone was waiting for ... k.d. appeared at the left side of the stage, resplendent in her trademark shirt, waistcoat, trousers and, undeterred by the May Wellington temperatures, her bare feet!! Oh that lazy, warm, soul touching smile ... enough to heat any fan’s heart and ours were racing!! The crowd roared and greeted her with enthusiasm and adulation.  k.d. broke into song!

Suddenly, a voice from the depths of the theatre broke forth yelling, “k.d., can we dance?!” Her reply, while laughing, “Well, I don’t make the rules, so I don’t know!” Many more chants of the same request erupted. After some negotiation she suggested we could come and dance in front of the stage for one song! Wow! Up close and personal! Now this was not a moment to be ignored. Our new found friends all around us were on their feet, not waiting for a second invitation. There was nothing for it but to join them. Away up to the front many went, joining in the foray of devoted k.d. followers. Cameras were not allowed at this venue, but we noticed this was being ignored as many flashes were seen up at these close quarters. We were no exception and flashed recklessly to get on camera this amazing idol - memories to bring to our friends back home, not to

mention for our own reminiscing later.

k.d. oozed a warmth and “down-to-earthness” that we had not experienced at any other concert before. She played with her audience, enticing us to come with her on her journey of song, taking us into the realms of her soul.

Some old favourites (including “Miss Chatelaine” and “Constant Craving”) and some new material from her recently released Watershed album (“I Dream of Spring” and “Upstream”) were included in k.d.’s non-stop pitch-perfect delivery and not one fan present was disappointed when, after a quick swig from her waterbottle, she announced that she would then perform a Leonard Cohen track. This was from the 2004 album Hymns of the 49th Parallel. AH!! The favourite, the hauntingly beautiful “Hallelujah”. The crowd was enraptured. This song was real goosebump material and k.d. delivered it with her polished soulful magic, producing a whole-theatre standing ovation.  We could have gone home fully sated at that point, but she invited us down to dance once again and so what else could we do!

This evening would have to be the highest point of our theatre experiences and, if/when k.d. lang graces our shores again, we will be one of the first in line to book seats.

Kia Ora k.d.!!!!

Book reviews by Mike Wooliscroft  

These two reviews relate to books on subjects from the past - one is set in the 1300s and the other in 1911. In both these works the sleuthing (research) capabilities of the authors are paramount as they investigate their subjects.

In the first book, Isabella And The Strange Death Of Edward II (London: Constable, 2003),

Paul Doherty works through territory which will be familiar, at least in part, to many of us. “The

strange death of Edward II” refers, of course, to the reputed assassination of Edward by means of a red hot poker up his arse as portrayed in Derek Jarman’s 1991 film Edward II, which is an interpretation of a Christopher Marlowe play.

Both playwrights dealt with fictionalisations of historic events and both suggest at least a romantic relationship between Edward II and his “favourite” Piers Gaveston. Indeed, in Jarman’s movie the main plot elements are the highly charged loving and sexual relationship between the two men and corruption by power. Who of us having seen Jarman’s movie could ever forget the scene in which Edward and Gaveston are forced to say goodbye as they dance to Annie Lennox singing “Every Time We Say Goodbye”?

There is no doubting that in life there was a strong bonding between these two men. Edward’s favouritism of Gaveston was so pronounced that his queen, Isabella, was mightily offended and sought to work (successfully) against her husband – something assisted by senior nobles who were also chagrined by Edward’s preferential treatment of Gaveston.

Doherty tests some of the creative assumptions made by Marlowe, Jarman and others. It is this sleuthing which makes his book such a stimulating read. While the title would indicate a major focus on

Isabella and her controlling grasp of the English throne for a time (she was a French princess of only six years old when she was betrothed to Edward and married to him when she was twelve), a lot of the content of the book focuses on Edward, his relationship with Piers Gaveston and then, after Gaveston’s assassination, his next male “favourite” Hugh de Spencer, an ancestor of Princess Diana.

Doherty also allows the possibility that Edward wasn’t assassinated by the hot poker (as supposedly appropriate retribution of a gay man while also allowing his body to look as though it had not been

attacked) and that he may have eked out a discreet existence in hiding knowing that Isabella had gained control of the nation. In the end Edward III, their son, firmly took over the realm from

Isabella as her intimate relationship with Roger Mortimer caused her to lose favour with the citizenry, in part because of Mortimer’s supposed involvement in Edward’s demise. This resulted in his being hanged and Isabella sent into semi-retirement so that Edward III could rule on his own account.

The second book, The Real Tadzio: Thomas Mann’s “Death In Venice” And The Boy Who Inspired It by Gilbert Adair (London: Short Books, 2001), is also an interesting piece of research. In 1911 the German writer Thomas Mann visited Venice with his wife and saw a beautiful young Polish boy who was holidaying there with his family.  Mann was immediately infatuated with Wladyslaw Moes and on his return home spent a year writing his novella Death In Venice which was published in 1912.

It is interesting that Death In Venice, the story of an aging writer enthralled by a Polish adolescent, was universally acclaimed immediately it was published. In reality, the real boy the character Tadzio was based on was not an adolescent - “a long-haired boy of about fourteen” - but rather a child not quite eleven. But Mann took far greater liberties with his own fictional surrogate placing Gustav

Aschenbach in his 50s whereas in 1911 Mann was only 36 years old.  Adair tracks down the Moes family and the subsequent history of Wladyslaw. It was not until 1924 that Wladyslaw read Death In Venice and realised that he was the model for Tadzio but he did not contact either Mann or Jas, the boyhood friend who holidayed with him in Venice and who also features in the novella. It was only on release of Visconti’s film of the same name in 1971 that Wladyslaw rekindled his interest with his boyhood friend with whom he went to Venice. Mann died in 1955.

Adair has clearly been fascinated by the situation of an older man becoming infatuated with a much younger man. He wrote a novella on the same theme, Love And Death On Long Island, an account of a lonely, elderly English writer becoming enthralled with an American teen idol. The film Love And Death On Long Island, directed by Richard Kwietniowski, was based on this novella and stars John Hurt brilliantly playing the author Giles De’Ath. The Real Tadzio is a fascinating, short (100 page) study which will interest aficionados of Death In Venice – the book and the film.

Doherty’s book is a recent addition to the stock of the Dunedin Public Libraries.  Adair’s book is not held by the Dunedin Public Libraries but can be interloaned.

companions, champions, mates and lovers 

reviewed by Mike Wooliscroft 

Dr Chris Brickell, Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Otago, has written an excellent and wonder-filled comprehensive history of gay men in New Zealand since the time of European settlement.

The recent publication of Mates & Lovers: A History Of Gay New Zealand (Auckland NZ: Random House NZ (Godwit), 2008) provides a major boost to the literature of gay New Zealand. While there have been a few titles of more limited scope relating to gay society from the 1960s onwards, this is the first to delve into our national history in any thorough way from the early years of British colonisation to the period of Gay Liberation in the 1970s. 

According to the publicity material from the publisher, “Brickell tells the evolving story of New Zealand gay men through the lives of clerks, labourers, shop assistants, soldiers, actors, writers of all classes, and shows that our erotic past was vibrant, complex and often surprising.” Brickell mentions that through the history of homoeroticism we also learn about New Zealand society as a whole. This point is well made and expanded on throughout the book as we have challenged, and been challenged by, the majority gender, social, psychological and legal ethos.

The text is very readable, even entertaining in parts, while still managing to be a work of scholarship – the best of combinations. Brickell points out that the available documentary sources, particularly

earlier ones, result in an over-representation of Pakeha. However, gay Maori and Pasifika are also included albeit to a lesser degree. 

Of special interest to local readers is the fact that Otago court records date back to 1862 whereas those in other provinces of New Zealand survive back only until the turn of the twentieth century. Thus, there is more early court-informed detail of our local gay history than there is from other areas.

Dunedin interviewees have also informed the content of the book to a significant extent so Otago gay history is well represented.

Brickell charts the terminology for those we now call gay or queer, both as described by those outside and also by ourselves. He also tells how through the early years of the twentieth century same-sex sentimentality and romanticism came to indicate rather more than brotherly love. 

What is immediately impressive is the number of photographs which Brickell has thoughtfully analyzed, careful not to claim too much but sensitive to allowing possibilities and probabilities where certainty could not be assured. This leads to one of my few cavils for the picture captions in tiny italics are hard to read. In addition, the designer has decided on a variety of styles for the presentation of some photographs providing some backgrounds which I found detracted from the photographs themselves. But this is a small complaint given the delight in finding so much pictorial material gathered together from so many sources.

There are excellent annexes including a map, bibliography, copious notes referring to source material and a fine index. There might have been more detailed treatment of the emigration of young gay men from the southern cities and rural areas of Otago and Southland (and probably other northern

provincial areas) to more “gay-friendly” cities and metropolises of Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Sydney where they found larger gay societies and more opportunities for connection and acceptance.

Over recent decades, though largely outside the time-frame of this book, we have seen the return of some more mature gay men to retire here taking advantage of cheaper housing, the wish to be closer to their biological families, coupled with the return of those who, terminally ill, wish to be cared for by

long-standing friends.

I hope that Chris Brickell will be encouraged to extend this history in a few years time and/or even that his publishers will be encouraged to issue an expanded subsequent edition if sufficient fresh information comes to light as gay men and their intimates read this book and prove willing to come forth to share their experiences and documentation. 

Mates & Lovers is readily available from good booksellers and libraries and is an excellent choice for home bookshelves. This is a splendid book to read thoroughly and to dip into and to delight in. For more mature readers memories will be refreshed and some insights into previously misty events will be revealed.  For younger gay readers Mates & Lovers provides the national history of our culture, our whanau.

To sum up, Chris Brickell’s Mates & Lovers is a stunning achievement which is amazingly cheap at

$50 for such a substantial and well-illustrated book.  Buy one for yourself, buy copies for your friends

and, if your budget does not allow this, recommend it widely and borrow a copy from the Dunedin Public Libraries.

Dr Chris Brickell

ELECTION 2008 WHY IS VOTING IMPORTANT?

Before the end of the year there will be a general election in New Zealand. Some people question why they should vote in elections and every three years when there’s a general election here a significant number of eligible voters don’t  exercise their democratic right to vote on election day. You often hear people say things like “I’m not interested in politics” or “Politics don’t affect me” or “Why should I bother voting, it won’t change anything or make a difference”. Well, politics actually affect all of us daily (whether we like it or not). The Members of Parliament are there to represent us and, as citizens, it’s our responsibility to take part in the election of the people who run our country. Our lives are shaped (to varying extents) by the laws of the country where we live and the policies of the government, especially in areas such as economics, education, health, welfare – and, for members of the LGBT community, the government’s attitude towards us as a minority population. But, our votes do count and we can make a difference and, as part of a democracy, we have an obligation to participate in the voting process.

When it comes to voting I can’t help but think of the incredible sacrifices that people in the past have made and the struggles that they’ve been part of in order to attain the right to vote. Think of the suffragettes, those amazing women in the 19th and early 20th centuries who risked so much

and battled so courageously for women to have the right to vote. (And, don’t forget that New

Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote.) Don’t all women today

owe it to these women of the past to exercise our right to vote on election day? At the moment, too, I’m also very aware of the struggles that are happening right now, in 2008, in other countries where democracy isn’t taken for granted.  Zimbabwe is a perfect example of this. Here is a country where people are injured, tortured and even killed just for trying to vote for the candidate they support. I know it’s a cliché, but sometimes we really don’t know how lucky we are!

So, even if you don’t follow politics or you’ve been fairly non-committal about voting in the past, I would urge you to think seriously about voting this year (and every time there’s an election in the future). And, to all those young people who have turned 18 in the last couple of years and,therefore, haven’t been able to vote before, you need to get yourselves enrolled and then show up to vote on election day. This is one occasion when you do get a say and, although one vote on its own may not make a difference, lots of votes together do.  

Think about what kind of government you want running our country, think about what’s important to you, think about which party’s policies you believe in – then decide who to vote for and go to a polling booth on election day and cast your votes. Remember that you get two votes – a party vote and a candidate vote (for the MP to represent your electorate) – and the candidate you vote for can be from a different party than the party you give your party vote to!

There’s a lot of talk at the moment (especially in the media) about the need for a change in government, but individual voters should be quite clear about what the change will mean – and this

is why we all need to look carefully at a party’s policies in order to make an informed decision.

Change just for the sake of change is not necessarily a good thing.

So, I thought it would be interesting for OGT readers to find out about the stance of some of the political parties in relation to rainbow issues and whether or not they have any openly LGBT

candidates standing in the election. I approached the Labour Party, the National Party, the Maori Party and the Green Party and asked them all the same three questions. The questions and the answers I received are printed here. Perhaps some of you may not think that a party’s rainbow policy is one of the most important policies to consider when deciding who to vote for. However, our community still faces some serious issues (e.g. homophobia in schools, the way transgender people are treated, etc.) and, therefore, for me anyway the rainbow policies of the political parties

forming the government and their attitudes towards our community are crucially important.  Remember which parties have supported us in the past and which have voted against legislation to

remove discrimination against LGBT people.

1. Does your party have a Rainbow Policy? If so, what is it? If not, why not?

2. In recent years lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have won a number of very significant rights and many legal discriminations that existed against LGBT people have been removed. What does your party believe are still issues for the LGBT community, and will your party be willing to actively work on resolving these issues?

3. Does your party have any openly LGBT candidates standing in the upcoming election? If  so, could you please indicate the electorate where they’re standing or if they’ll just be on the list.

1. Labour has an active rainbow sector, including a Rainbow MPs’ caucus that comprises our 5Rainbow MPs - Hon Chris Carter, Hon Maryan Street, Tim Barnett, Louisa Wall and Charles Chauvel. Labour publishes a comprehensive rainbow policy prior to each election. We also ensure that rainbow concerns are reflected in our social policy pledges. Like all Labour election policy, the Rainbow Policy is in the final stages of the approval process but very likely it will be as follows:

Labour believes that the same basic rights apply to all New Zealanders regardless of their sexual

orientation. We have made great progress in bringing about formal legal equality for nonheterosexual

New Zealanders. This provides a sound basis for dealing with outstanding legal issues and for creating a supportive environment for all Rainbow communities.

Labour will

• Continue to support achieving equality before the law for all through legislation and policy.

• Ensure that as new laws are made and old laws reviewed they are consistent with human rights.

• Repeal the defence of provocation, in line with the recommendation of the Law Commission.

• Implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission on transgendered people.

• Actively support efforts in international forums to condemn discrimination on the grounds of

sexual orientation through the international human rights framework.

• Further develop the rainbow policy function of the Ministry of Social Development to ensure that

concerns of rainbow communities are taken into account when policy is made.

• Ensure the effective implementation of the sexual and reproductive health strategy, including

the HIV/AIDS action plan.

• Ensure adequate resourcing is available to  organisations responsible for promoting the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the care of those  living with HIV, in particular the NZ AIDS Foundation.

• Develop blood donation policy with the goal of making the policy as non-discriminatory as possible while retaining public safety and confidence.

• Develop guidelines and resources for schools on combating bullying, including homophobic

bullying.

• Work with the Education Review Office to ensure that schools’ anti-bullying policies and procedures, including those dealing with homophobic bullying, are reviewed and evaluated.

• Fund research with the purpose of publishing best-practice examples of schools and early

childhood centres that are supportive contexts for GLBTI students, teachers and families/whanau.

• Ensure that all schools’ sexuality education programmes are inclusive of, and convey positive

messages about, GLBTI people, including students, teachers and families/whanau.

• Ensure that all Ministry of Education documentation that includes a definition of diversity is inclusive of sexuality and gender diversity.

• Encourage schools to support the establishment of diversity groups or gay/straight alliances in

secondary schools.

2. Please see answer above. Our Rainbow Policy is formatted so as to identify future policy priorities.

3. Our rainbow candidates include:

Hon Chris Carter, Te Atatu

Hon Maryan Street, Nelson

Charles Chauvel MP, Ohariu

Louisa Wall MP, Tamaki Makaurau

Grant Robertson, Wellington Central

Jordan Carter, Hunua

Jills Angus-Burnie, Rangitikei

Tangi Utikere (list candidate only)

Our list selection process has not yet been completed, but it is certain that, as in previous years, there will be a number of rainbow candidates placed on it in winnable positions.

1. National formulates policy for all New Zealanders, and we believe that our policy approach - particularly our economic policy - will benefit all New Zealanders, no matter what their race, religion or sexual orientation.

2. Particular issues that impact on the LGBT community are best identified by that community and brought forward for consideration. However, rest assured a National government would listen

carefully to issues the LGBT community might have and work constructively on ways to resolve

those issues.

3. Chris Finlayson, a member of National’s Shadow Cabinet, is the party’s candidate for Rongotai.

He is National’s Shadow Attorney-General and Spokesman for Treaty Negotiations and Arts, Culture and Heritage.

1. The promotion of whanau is one of the three foundational pillars of the Maori Party, alongside Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an environmentally sustainable economy.  Whanau ora, family wellbeing, takes centre stage in our vision for the nation’s future, with policies designed to uplift and strengthen whanau; to ensure whanau are properly resourced to access services, invest in themselves, participate in society and determine their futures. The Maori Party’s whanau ora policies will restore a sense of confidence in whanau, that whanau is and can be a meaningful and secure centre from which

to determine our lives, and from such a location, contribute to and progress the nation.

The Maori Party’s priority of whanau ora includes takataapui, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender

people, as it includes wahine, tane, pakeke, tamariki, rangatahi and mokopuna. This emphasis on inclusivity rather than specificity draws from kaupapa Maori, values derived from a Maori worldview, and recognises the importance of whanaungatanga; it affirms the shared whakapapa which joins people together, and it affirms the reciprocal obligations inherent in whanau relationships.

2. Adoption by same sex couples - For the Maori Party, it is for whanau to determine their own whangai (adoption) arrangements, with the arrangements usually being made within whanau networks given the importance of whakapapa links. All such avenues should be pursued before looking to adopt children outside these links. Consideration needs to be on whanau and whakapapa connections rather

than the sexual identity of the couple. The preference of the Maori Party is for whanau to determine these arrangements free of legislative imposition. However, we would consider giving legal expression to the rights of whanau with regards to their own members should our constituency raise this as an issue worth pursuing.  Census data - A question regarding sexual identity should be included in the five yearly population census. This would offer opportunities for analysis, research, targeting of services and resources, etc. that would be particularly useful for takataapui communities.  Immigration - Under the Immigration Regulations 1999, and specifically E4.1.10 Definition of “partner”, it is clear that partner includes a person who is in a civil union or de facto relationship – whether of the opposite

or same sex. As whanau, partners need to be given priority consideration and recognition in immigration decisions.

3. Our full list of candidates for the 2008 election will not be released until August. Maori Party Electorate Councils are encouraging wide participation in the nomination process. We had takataapui list candidates in the 2005 election.

1. Thank you for asking us about the Green Party’s Rainbow Policy because we certainly have one and it is quite comprehensive. Our rainbow policy is titled “Sexual Orientation Policy - Celebrating a Rainbow Nation” and the whole policy can be accessed on our website (www.greens.org.nz).

Here’s a summary of the policy’s main points:

• Celebration of diversity and encouragement of appreciation between groups.

• Elimination of legislation barriers to full participation in society.

• Elimination of institutional discrimination.

• Education in school, workplace and community about sexual orientation.

• Fostering enduring, cohesive and participatory communities through well resourced social services.

• Research into issues confronting the “rainbow” communities.

• Holistic health services accessible to all.

2. Some of the current and outstanding issues for us include:

• The ability to adopt children as couples.

• To support lesbian and gay marriages, and not just civil unions.

• Further research relating to the high rate of gay and lesbian suicide.

• Prevention of bullying and violence against rainbow people.

• To encourage research to help identify discriminatory practices.

3. The Green Party has two openly LGBT candidates: Kevin Hague who is standing for Greymouth and Linda Persson who is standing for Hamilton East. Kevin is number 7 on the list and Linda is number 35.

Thank You & Au Revoir

by Tor Devereux

After the election this year, regardless of the outcome, Parliament will be without two MPs who have been avid supporters of social justice and LGBT rights. Interestingly these two individuals come from quite different sides of the political pole, but they have both been willing to stand up for what they believe to be right and just despite what others (even others in their own party) were saying. These MPs are Tim Barnett (Labour’s MP for Christchurch Central) and Katherine Rich (National’s list MP in Dunedin).

I would like to salute Tim and Katherine and say a sincere thank you to them for working to ensure that New Zealanders like myself, my partner, my children and all members of the LGBT/queer community and our families have most of the same rights as other New Zealanders.

Legislation such as the Care of Children Act and the Civil Union Act are not just abstract, ideological pieces of legislation for me. They are very important laws in regard to who I am as an individual, a couple and a parent, and they have had a profound effect (for the good) on the everyday life of our family.

Katherine Rich entered Parliament as a National list MP in 1999 and during the last nine years she has been almost a lone voice in her party when it has come to supporting legislation that would give LGBT people rights and end discrimination.  But, she didn’t let this deter her. She stood up for what she believed in her heart to be right and fair, and for that she has my tremendous respect and gratitude.

Katherine turned down my request for an interview for the OGT stating that she has declined all interviews since her announcement that she was leaving politics at this election preferring to keep a low profile. Thank you, Katherine, for supporting our community and our right to be treated equally under the law … and best wishes for the future.

Tim Barnett, as I’m sure most of you will know, was a champion of the Civil Union legislation (as

well as the Prostitution Law Reform). During the civil union campaign he stood up for LGBT rights in

the face of prejudice and continued to support the legislation fervently even when things turned ugly

and those opposing the bill became vitriolic and venomous in what they said about us, our lives and our families.

The LGBT/queer community has been very fortunate to have had Tim as a Member of Parliament for the last 12 years. He has not only served his Christchurch Central electorate very capably and effectively, but he has also served our community too. He’s been passionate about issues, but approached them in a level-headed, determined and intelligent way. Thank you, Tim, for helping to  make New Zealand a much better place for us queer folk. You’ll be missed! I hope the future is exciting and fulfilling.

Tim accepted my request for an interview and here it is. 

Some Final Words From Tim Barnett MP

I can remember causing a teacher to deride me when, at the age of 9, I announced I wanted to

go into politics. I was always fascinated by the powerful characters in politics, the potential they

had to make remarkable changes and the fact that human beings from apparently similar backgrounds

could think so differently about so many things. And, maybe this was an early sign of gayness, but

I just loved (and love) the drama of it all! But, like many things in life, it was a series of lucky breaks

which actually got me focused on politics and into local and then central government.

Surviving with integrity and a bit of a legacy (prostitution law reform and civil union and related relationship law reform, and extensive voluntary sector lobby training), and choosing the time of my departure.

I worked for 12 years in voluntary sector management, while being a city councillor in London on the side and then I spent 12 years in the New Zealand Parliament following a period in the Christchurch voluntary sector. Now I am 50 and seeking some new challenges. At present my preference for the next stage of my journey is to work in international development, maybe a combination of on-the-ground fieldwork followed by work at a more strategic level. 

Intensely busy, risk-filled, achievement-limited (considering the effort exerted) and not family/

whanau-friendly.

One of the perverse things about politicians is that we tend to let nastiness targeted at us just bounce off us. The skill is not to be nasty in return. Through the prostitution and civil union fights I kept thinking that whatever I was going through was infinitely less painful than what many experienced under the outdated laws we were trying to replace. I am quite target-orientated and have an ego which, given the context of the political world, is reasonably controlled. In the tough times I just focused on doing my best and being part of the campaign team. We involved and politicised great people through those campaigns;  that is a legacy which I was proud to share in.

We have established a steady reform process over recent years, vital since we were the only group

in society facing such widespread discrimination in law. National MPs totally or overwhelmingly

opposed every one of those reforms when voting in Parliament and I have no faith in a government

led by them defending what we have now, let alone making the further improvements necessary.

A Helen Clark-led Labour Government working with the Greens and Maori Party would commit to

completing our journey to equality under the law.  So yes, the outcome is vital.

There are many things which conservative MPs could do to weaken our rights short of repealing laws. For example, civil unions could be restricted to same-sex couples. Funding to the AIDS Foundation could be cut. The Rainbow Desk in the Ministry of Social Development, centre of expertise in Government on our concerns, could be closed down. It is naïve to believe that all our work is

done, or ever will be complete. Our sexuality inspires a depth of hatred in some people which can never be ignored.

What do you think are the issues for the LGBT/queer community that still need to be addressed by Government?

There are a few discriminatory and harmful laws still on the books, notably the ban on same-sex couples adopting and laws able to be used in unhelpful ways, for example the law which allows the defence of “provocation” by people who have committed violent attacks. Labour is committed to reforming both. The next big challenge is running the ongoing work of Government – everything from operating schools to promoting human rights at the United Nations – in ways which grow rather than diminish us. That is why the attitude of individual Ministers in future governments towards queer needs will be so crucial.

Some final comments

Through the past 12 years I have particularly enjoyed my contact with the Dunedin queer scene. The politics is up-front, the community is superbly served by the OGT, the opponents are particularly raw and the ability of people to work together across gender, sexuality and age barriers is remarkable. Keep going for it! 

WORLD WATCH

Sources: www.pinknews.co.uk,  www.365gay.com, 

www.biggaynews.com , www.ukgaynews.org.uk 

By passing a new marriage law that allows homosexuals to

marry and adopt children and permits lesbians to be artificially

inseminated, Norway has become the sixth country in the world

to grant homosexuals the right to marry on an equal footing with

heterosexuals. Among other things the new legislation, which

is expected to come into force later this year, replaces the socalled

“partnership law” adopted in 1993 that gave Norwegian

homosexuals the right to civil unions. The part of the new law

that aroused the most controversy was the right of lesbians to

be artificially inseminated. To appease opposition two provisions

were included: the sperm donor must be identified so that the

child can seek out his or her biological father at the age of 18

and healthcare workers who are personally opposed are under no

obligation to perform the procedure on lesbians. 

President Yoweri Museveni has spoken of his country’s “rejection”

of homosexuality, saying the purpose of life was to create

children and that homosexuality was a “negative foreign culture”.

Uganda is one of the African countries at the centre of a row over

homosexuality and the ordination of gay priests that threatens a

schism in the Anglican Church. Over 250 bishops, many of them

African, declined to attend the Lambeth Conference, the church’s

world gathering held every 10 years, on the grounds that the

ordination of women and gay bishops is immoral and against the

teachings of Christ.

A survey of Californian voters has found that 51% oppose a ballot

measure that would ban same-sex marriages in their state, while

42 % would support it. The ballot, to be put to voters on the same

day as the presidential and congressional elections, has arisen

after opponents of same-sex marriage collected enough signatures

to force the issue. The State government originally banned samesex

marriages, a measure approved in 2000 by 61% of voters.

However, in May of this year the state Supreme Court ruled that

same-sex couples cannot be excluded from marriage.

A court in Sicily ordered the Italian government to pay 100,000

euros (about $208,000) to a man who was failed on his driving

test because he was gay. Several years ago the man told doctors

he was gay during a medical examination for military service,

homosexuality being grounds for rejection from the one-year

compulsory service in the army. That information was passed

onto the Ministry of Defense, which in turn released it to other

government departments, including the Transport Ministry. When

he subsequently took the driving test to renew his license he

was told he would have to repeat the test or have his license

suspended on the grounds of his “sexual identity disturbance”

even though he had made no errors during the test. The second

time he also passed the test but was told he would receive only a

one-year renewal, rather than the usual 10 years, again because

was gay. The 27-year-old then went to court which ruled his

constitutional rights had been violated and that homosexuality

could not be considered a “mental illness”.

Public attitudes about gays in the military have shifted

dramatically since President Bill Clinton unveiled his

administration’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy 15 years ago. 75%

of Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll have said

gay people who are open about their sexual orientation should be

allowed to serve in the US military, up from 62% in early 2001

and 44% in 1993. In a recent review of 20 years of polling data,

the Pew Research Center reported “a major shift away from highly

negative attitudes toward gays and support for punitive actions

against gays”. For example, in 2007 data, 28% said local school

boards should have the right to fire teachers known to be gay,

down sharply from the 51% who said so in 1987.

A native of the Greek island of Lesbos who is leading the

campaign to stop gay women from using the word “Lesbian” to

describe themselves says he has received support from numerous

current and former Lesbos natives. The 69-year-old is trying to

obtain a court injunction to prevent a Greek homosexual rights

organisation from using the word “lesbian” to describe homosexual

women. A Lesbos native who has lived in Canada for 30 years

says he is still met with confusion when he describes himself as

a “Lesbian”. Insisting that he has no problem with homosexual

women or same-sex marriage, he maintains he merely wants to

reclaim a word that is an important part of his heritage.

by Anna Chinn

He is a theatrical man. By way of introduction, Harold Robinson tells the Greek myth of Narcissus,

who saw his reflection in a pool and was “so infatuated with his own beauty that he didn’t ever leave the pool, and when he died there, in place of him, narcissus grew”. This is not to inform me that he’s frightfully vain (he says that later on), but rather he is dramatising his surroundings. The interview happens in Room 6 of the Manor Motel, Dunedin. The walls are off-white, the room has a sofa, television, table and chairs. On the table is a jug of flowers from a friend; the flowers are narcissus, hence the narrative.

Robinson has probably not needed to spend much of his 89 years deliberately dramatising life. Like a pair of handsome suitors, glamour and drama seem to have always thrown themselves at him – or vice versa, perhaps. A synopsis of Robinson’s history goes like this. He served in the Pacific and Egypt in World War 2. After this he became a ballet dancer in Europe and married his friend, the exotic dancer Freda Stark, though neither was straight. He then returned to New Zealand to teach dance and hold glittering parties at La Breeze Marine, his Mediterranean-style clifftop home overlooking the Hauraki Gulf.

But, it all began in Dunedin, where he learned to dance. “In those days, you didn’t learn ballet dancing as a young boy or a young child; you learned fancy dancing, that’s what it was called.”  As a youth he aspired to become a minister with the Anglican Church, but he lacked the “certain classical education” required. However, he gained a lay preacher’s certificate, which he still has, and on Sundays he would ride a secondhand bicycle over an unsealed Mt Cargill and down to Warrington to read out the sermons at St Barnabas Church. You can imagine he became pretty fit making this regular trip – which was probably for the best as “then, of course, the war came”.

Neither the church nor the military is known for offering an open embrace to gay folk. I wonder, if it is not impertinent to ask, what it was like to be a young gay soldier during World War 2? 

“Ah, now we’re talking! I have something I want to say about that. Today, people wear their sexuality and a big sign emblazoned right across their chest, which I find abhorrent. The word ‘gay’ didn’t function back then. But I have never apologised, nor have I ever been ashamed of being a homosexual. Why don’t people just shut up? I think if Oscar Wilde hadn’t opened his mouth so much there would never have been such a fuss made about it.

“Listen, when I was a boy, I had a very close association with a young man who taught me about Greek love. In ancient Greece, they believed that women were, if you’ll excuse me, for procreation only and that love for another man was the greatest love. And that’s what we felt, and that meant not being ashamed.

“Now, in the army, you might have had a very great companion, a buddy, a very great friendship

– not necessarily a sexual relationship, that didn’t come into it. But I remember coming back from

the war, all the men had been sleeping down in the hold [on the ship] one night and they came

up on deck, and I remember all the men huddled up together and the air being very, very

charged. Let’s say you had been my companion for four years and now you were going back to your

fiancée and I was going back to my life. We were parting. This is what I try to explain to my friend

John Z. Robinson when he asks me how it was. There was a tremendous bond among the men.”

After the war, returned servicemen were offered bursaries to undertake study. “I was just being cheeky,” Robinson says of his application to use his to study with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School in

London. But he was accepted, becoming the first New Zealander to join the forerunner of today’s

Royal Ballet School.  The company whisked him off around Europe – London, Vienna, Zurich, Verona – as he advanced from the back row to soloist status.

“As another string to my bow,” he says, “I had a pleasant singing voice.” He auditioned to become a

performer at the risqué variety theatre, The Windmill, in London. (The Windmill had made its name by including nude tableaux vivants, or living statues, among its acts because the censor technically could not oppose nude statues.) “Again, what a cheek!” says Robinson, since he had no professional singing experience at that time. However, he was again accepted and spent many years as a singer and dancer at the theatre.

Eventually, he came home and taught at the New Zealand Ballet Company and spent more

than 40 years in the kaleidoscopic company of the Auckland arts crowd while living at La Breeze Marine. His visit to Dunedin in June was just the second since he left here more than 65 years ago.

The interview ends with a theatrical gripping of

my arm. “You know,” he says, “I have always been fiercely proud of being gay. No, let me rephrase

that. I have never been ashamed of being a homosexual. I think people have a tendency to be

apologetic about it these days, but I never felt I had to apologise to anyone.”

Family violence is abuse in intimate relationships. Family violence does not discriminate, it occurs in all types of relationships: gay, lesbian or straight; monogamous, open or three-way; dating, new relationships or long-term; live in or not. Family violence can happen to anyone irrespective of class, ethnicity, gender or sexuality and it’s not OK.

Family violence is any type of abusive behaviour by one partner who attempts to gain and maintain control over other/s. It is about power and control and can take many forms including physical violence, sexual assault, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, social or financial control.

If you have experienced family violence, your children have witnessed or experienced family violence, or you are concerned about your relationship the following services are there to help:

Stopping Violence Dunedin Inc. provides individual and group

programmes for men who have been abusive in their relationships to

help them change their beliefs and behaviours within the context of

their communities and their cultures.

(474-1121, [email protected])

Te Roopu Tautoko Ki Te Tonga is a community-based Maori Health

Provider that provides health and social services that are conducive

to the needs of Maori. Te Puna Manawa is a stopping violence

programme for Maori men.

(477-4670 or 477-4681, [email protected])

Te Whare Pounamu Dunedin Women’s Refuge provides emergency

safe housing for women and children who are victims of family violence,

a crisis-line (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), a women’s education

programme and a tamariki programme for children. You don’t need to

stay in the Refuge safe house to receive assistance.

(477-1229 or 455-0782, [email protected])

Barnardos Otago provides the “Footsteps to Feeling Safe” educational

programme for children and young people between the ages of 5 and

17 to help them deal with the effects of experiencing family violence.

(471-4330 or 471-4336, [email protected])

Relationship Services Otago works with people who are violent in their

relationships to help build safe, respectful, loving relationships. They

deliver individual programmes to men and women who are abusive or

who are subject to abuse in their relationships.

(477-6766, [email protected])

Horizons

by Jane E Libeau

She stands on the edge

Of her own existence

Watches the waves of her life

Crash against the rocks of time.

She casts her eyes past the horizon

Lifts her thoughts beyond the rising sun

And she begins to drift.

Images of self submerge

Into the depths of the rising tide.

From herself she sets flight

Into the meaning of her being.

Glance back, she does not

And all that was remembered

Is now forgot.

I step forward from my observation

Of that woman

Ascending to her horizon

Her journey watched,

Untold.

I wander to where she stood

I stand in her footprints

And look out to where she wished to be

I saw her as she looked back at me.

A smile she gave from that distant place

That horizon.

Had she found what she did seek?

As her image faded

I could not ask

And she could not speak.

Gay And Lesbian

Art Exhibition 2008

by Ralph Body

While late July saw showers pouring down upon Dunedin, in the heart of

the city there glowed a rainbow. The Pride ensign cast colourful reflections in

the puddles outside and tempted passers-by into the Community Gallery for

the 2008 Gay and Lesbian Art Exhibition. This temptation was well repaid,

with the 33 works distinguished by both their quality and variety. With a

diversity akin to the community which produced them, the art on display

included paintings, photography, sculpture, jewellery and patinated copper.

The show came about after an artist who had cancelled her exhibition

enquired if anyone within Dunedin’s queer community wished to make use of

her booking. As a result, the Gay and Lesbian Exhibition was able to return

to the Community Gallery, a venue it last occupied in 2005. Many of the

same people involved with that exhibition were on the committee responsible

for the current display. This included the artists and art lovers Annie Nevin,

John Z. Robinson, John Timmins and Stephen Stock. The relatively short

notice at which the exhibition was organised meant the committee was

unable to issue the usual call for works through the OGT, instead relying

upon the rainbow network to spread the word.

Given the diverse nature of the art, it is easier to consider individual

works than try to identify overarching themes. The Dunedin exhibition was

fortunate in securing Richard Orjis of Auckland as its guest artist. His two

striking photographs showed men slathered in mud and decorated with

flowers, appearing like garlanded sculptures. Megan Schmidt, a newcomer

to Dunedin, showed some cosmic abstracts. Her flame-coloured oil paintings

“Tearing of the Veil” and “Spirit of Fire” were particularly dramatic, exerting

a centrifugal force which suggested both creation and destruction. Unique

and sensuous effects were also achieved by Jane Orr in her patinated copper

works. In “Tidal Flows” the fluid patterns created in varying shades of red,

gold and brown appeared like metalicised watercolours. Annie Nevin’s two

triptychs “Hands and Feet” and “Pandanus Tree” stood out for their forceful painting

and the playful way they led the eye across their three panels.  While these were

the works which most strongly caught my attention, the variety of the art on display helped

ensure that there was something which would appeal to most visitors.

Dunedin musician, potter, painter, weaver and socialite Eli Gray-Smith

formally opened the exhibition on Sunday 20 July. He reminded the crowd

how special the exhibiting artists were and how proud they should be of their

achievements. Eli further suggested that the best way for the wider queer

community to show support for its artists was by purchasing their work.

Annie Nevin thanked the exhibition’s sponsors - Gabby Morris of Cutlers

Realty and Mark Bridgmount Optometrist. A prize for the People’s Choice

Award was provided by Gray’s Studio and the winner will be announced in

the next issue of the OGT.

Hands and Feet by Annie Nevin

Happy 9th Birthday PFLAG South!!!

In the true tradition of family, PFLAG South blushed with PRIDE and

gathered to blow out 9 important candles on the 26th of May 2008 … toasted

with a glass of wine/juice and a slice of cake (baked by an extended family

member!).

With an AGM, a new President, a presentation to Third Year Medical

Students and an audience with Laura Black (General Manager of the Methodist

Mission), PFLAG continues to grow, develop and provide in the true nature of a

family unit.

PFLAG South is encouraged by the growing attendance and interest

expressed at their (hosted) monthly Youth Group Meetings. Youth (and

members of their extended family and friends!!) have enjoyed FOOD, FOOD and

MORE FOOD, good conversation, viewing a great DVD (D.E.B.S.) and a Friday

twilight at Laserforce - all facilitated by our wonderful students from Otago

University.

Dedicated to keeping families together, PFLAG South aims to help families

understand their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members and accept

them with love and PRIDE. It offers a chance to meet with other families in an

informal and, where necessary, confidential setting. It also offers support and

advice where this is needed.

Meetings are at 7.30 pm on the last Monday of the month. See Page 12 of the

OGT for PFLAG’s contact details.

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)