The Informer

– The federal government has tabled its long-awaited Religious Discrimination Bill. The legislation would weaken some existing protections for LGBTQIA+ Australians and has been roundly condemned by queer advocates, among others. We speak to Equality Australia about what this legislation means for the community.

– Melbourne Queer Film Festival has been rocked by a boycott campaign after it refused to withdraw Israeli film The S...

– New research by Vic Pride Lobby finds the vast majority of queer Victorians surveyed don’t trust or feel safe around police. We speak with Nic Holas of the Lobby about the findings, some of the impacts that the lack of trust can lead to, and what the police can do to improve their relationship with our communities.

– Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, sat down with us to chat about how he came to the role, the wo...

– The Victorian state government has proposed changes banning deferrable medical interventions on intersex children until they are able to consent. The changes have been welcomed after years of campaigning by intersex advocates who highlight the mental and physical damage that can be done by interventions. We speak with a paediatric surgeon about how the system currently operates.

– Recently in Bulgaria’s capital, Sophia, a far-...

– The board of Sydney Mardi Gras has proposed changes to its constitution that would mean a significant portion of the board is appointed by other board members, not elected by the organisation’s members. The motion will be put to a vote at an upcoming general meeting. Some in the organisation are critical of the proposal, namely the activist group, Pride in Protest.

– As Victoria comes out of what is hopefully its last significan...

– As Melbourne emerges from another tough long lockdown, we hear from some queer pubs about how they’ve managed while their doors were shut and how important queer spaces are for the community.

– Burundi is a small country nestled in the middle of Africa that has seen significant civil war in its not-too-distant past. While widespread violence isn’t a feature of the political process in recent years, homophobia from the state and ...

– The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a report recommending non-medically necessary interventions on intersex children be banned until they are able to give consent. We speak with intersex advocate, Tony Briffa, who has been calling for the changes for years.

– Although abortion was ruled a constitutional right in the US in the 1970s, opponents have long tried to restrict access through various state legislation. T...

– NSW has a new premier in Dominic Perrottet. A self-declared social conservative, he has previously expressed opposition to marriage equality, abortion, and support for Donald Trump. Is social progress under threat? We investigate.

– Victorian Parliament has passed reforms on Assisted Reproductive Treatments. We speak with the Vic. Pride Lobby about how the reforms benefit rainbow families, but also how they didn’t go far enough.

– A petition calling for gender-affirming surgery to be covered amassed over 100,000 in a matter of days. Currently, the surgery isn’t covered and is extremely expensive. We speak with Sally Goldner from Transgender Victoria about what impact Medicare coverage could have.

– The EU has been applying pressure to Polish province governments over ‘LGBT-Free Zone’ ordinances that have been passed by many provinces since 2019. With th...

– Despite Victoria leading the country with many LGBTQIA+ reforms, the parliament has one of the lowest numbers of out LGBTQIA+ people. A new campaign launched by the Vic Pride Lobby seeks to change that. We speak to Vic’s first and only elected out lesbian Harriet Shing about what needs to be done to increase representation.

– Covid has led to lengthy delays in gender-affirming surgery. We find out what impact the delays ...