Rodney Croome . gay advocate

'Public benefits'

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:46:56 GMT

Figures recently released by Australian Marriage Equality about the cost to the Australian economy of not allowing same-sex marriages have been contested both for accuracy and relevancy. Jim Woulfe makes the point that the figure of $742 million is not recurrent. In other words, if all those...

'Wear it with pride'

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:47:09 GMT

Today saw the launch of "Wear It With Pride", a new $350,000, government-funded campaign to educate same-sex partners about their rights and responsibilities following the recognition of same-sex de facto relationships in federal law in 2008. The Wear It With Pride campaign sets an important precedent. It�s only fair that government allocate resources to explain such an important...

'Who or what do we turn to?'

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:27:39 GMT

Australian Marriage Equality has calculated that marriage discrimination costs the Australian economy $742 million. Based on the methodology of recent US studies, AME calculated the cost from three variables: the overall number of same-sex couples (as indicated by the Census),...

'Cisgender'

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:55:25 GMT

In the wake of an Australian Christian Lobby petition against a charter of rights, conservative commentator, Gerard Henderson, writes that such a charter is all but dead*. His reasoning?... "In...

A bright, cloudless antipodean sky

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:18:34 GMT
Can you spot any openly-LGBT people on this year�s Australia Day honours list? I can see Peter Brennan AM, the former president of the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation and financial supporter of various gay...

Public consciousness

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:57:38 GMT
Although I am an advocate for optimism on marriage equality, I have to admit there are moments when I wonder what's wrong with Australia. For example, when I saw Cindy McCain, wife of 2008 US Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, endorsing marriage equality, I shook my head in disbelief at how there are no Australian public figures, let alone conservative...

'Unhappy times'

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:14:22 GMT
Time to check the in-tray. On the Tasmanian election DavidB writes, You said: "The state election in March is an excellent opportunity to highlight how and why Tasmania can continue to improve its response to the prejudice which has blighted our reputation for too long." But how do we do this? The current Labor government appear to be reasonably supportive of our (the...

Neither ethical nor sustainable

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:48:48 GMT
What do these two things have in common? In the Weekend Australian Christopher Pearson took issue with those who blame Uganda�s anti-gay laws on Christian preachers and turned instead...

Unreliable and cunning

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:31:01 GMT
At New Year, new laws commenced allowing lesbian IVF access in Victoria and legally recognising lesbian co-mothers in Victoria and Tasmania. Surprisingly, it was the Herald Sun that covered the Victorian event fairly positively while

'Compassionate approach'

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:54:39 GMT
The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that the Federal Government will consider waiving the social security debt of those elderly or rural-dwelling same-sex partners who fear declaring their relationship to Centrelink may lead to discrimination. Last year, federal legal recognition of same-sex de facto relationships meant some welfare recipients in...