Candidates for Brisbane’s upcoming council election respond to LGBTI community survey
Image: Story Bridge lights up in rainbows for IDAHOT 2014 (Photo: David Alexander; 17c起草社区)
VOTERS in Brisbane鈥檚 upcoming March council elections now have access to results from a comprehensive survey that setts out party and candidate views on LGBTI-specific issues and their commitments to the community.
The survey 鈥� a first for Queensland politics 鈥� was conducted by four LGBTI community organisations. They approached all parties and independent candidates to establish how they would respond to current issues facing LGBTI residents in Brisbane City Council.
Spearheaded by Brisbane LGBTIQ Action Group (BLAG) convenor Phil Browne, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Brisbane Pride Festival, and the LGBTI Legal Service also helped create the survey and compiling the results.
The majority of questions raised in the survey received support from all four party-aligned or聽independent candidates, yet聽clear distinctions existed in the level of support.
The survey results reveal that both the Greens and Labor candidates, along with independent Cr Nicole Johnston, were 鈥渆xtremely supportive鈥� of all issues, with the Liberal National Party being 鈥渧ery supportive鈥� of a majority of issues.
Topics raised with candidates include聽the establishment of an LGBTI advisory committee, declarations of support for marriage equality, funding and ongoing support for the , and symbolic support in the form of rainbow flags on City Hall and for the pride festival and the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Efforts to promote inclusion of the LGBTI community by the current council was praised by former Sunshine Coast councillor of 14 years and BLAG member Paul Gratton.
“Council聽has come a long way and can be proud,” Gratton said.
鈥淏ut there is still a way to go. All levels of government have a responsibility to overcome the tragic toll from anti-LGBTIQ discrimination, especially regarding poor mental聽health and suicides.
鈥淲e look forward to continuing to work with聽Council to achieve this.”
PFLAG national spokesperson Shelley Argent said she was encouraged to see how far Brisbane had progressed and that all candidates were taking the LGBTI community seriously.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very heartening to see how attitudes of Brisbane are changing and as a parent of a gay male to see how our city council and the attitude of the candidates for Lord Mayor recognise it’s time to be inclusive of the LGBT community in 2016,” she said.
According to the results of the survey, Labor, the Greens and Cr Johnston are supportive of all聽issues raised, with the only major point of difference being the levels of funding commitments made to LGBTI community groups in 2016.
The current LNP Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, responded to the survey with the least amount of support, ruling out the establishment of an LGBTI advisory committee, and mixed results on the issues of support for marriage equality and public statements opposing homophobia and transphobia.
Labor’s Lord Mayor candidate Rod Harding, the Greens鈥� Ben Pennings and Cr Johnston have all committed to establishing a LGBTI advisory committee, stating they understood the importance of such a representative body in tackling issues facing the LGBTI community.
Quirk and the LNP majority in after an apparent show of bipartisan cooperation, that left some confused by the mixed messages.
Council decided efforts in promoting inclusion and support for the LGBTI community were already addressed by the聽Inclusive Brisbane Board (IBB).
鈥淭hough we believe the alarming evidence of LGBTIQ harm warrants an LGBTI-specific advisory committee, community organisations look forward to working with Dr Black and the IBB to deliver improved outcomes for LGBTI residents,鈥� a joint statement announcing the results of the survey said.
Voters in Australia鈥檚 largest local council head to the polls on Saturday, March 19.
For more information and detail regarding the survey results, visit聽
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LNP wins in Brisbane, no surprises there and the fixed 4 year term for the Queensland parliament passes by 53%!
Who cares about expensive rainbow crossings, motions on marriage equality and spending on committees! How about some real priorities such as better security and protection at events, feeding the homeless, more alcohol free zones, picking up garbage, upgrading roads, sewage pipes, etc. Lets not waste BCC time on things that are state or federal issues! I do like Paul’s idea of a Brisbane Relationship register! If Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have one, why not us here in Brisbane?
So the LNP will just pay $7000! That will buy you just a minute worth of fireworks! The LNP is just a joke, this will pay for absolutely nothing! Think about your vote!
Also I forgot to mention! It is not just about QLD council elections, there is also a referendum in QLD on the same day too on fixed 4 year terms for the QLD Parliament! This will get rejected, as do most referendums do in Australia! If we are not careful, there will be a marriage referendum at a federal level under the Liberal party. At the next federal election if you want both safe school programs and marriage equality, I recommend a vote for Labor, Sex or the Greens parties!
The priorities are all wrong in Brisbane looking at the surveys! What about Brisbane City Council introducing a couples or relationship register? Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have them for years now! While we all know that federally marriage equality is not achievable for the next 4 years, while we wait I have been personally been contacting Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide city councils as well as the state governments of NT, WA and SA on setting up civil unions or relationships registers in the mean time. This is better than nothing and they also can recognise overseas same sex marriages or other same-sex unions too!