LGBT-Party Engagement at Paliament House

Here is the story I wrote for the ATSAQ newsletter that was recently published about my visit to Queenslands Parliament House... I am currently in the process of putting together a Parliamentary E-Petition with Grace Grace as its parliamentary signatory to stop Transphobia in the media. Nova radio here in Brisbane is a good example of why this form of abuse needs to be stopped. Still no official apology to the Trans community, written or on air from Nova or Ben and the band of bullies that joined into his ridiculous banter about Trans women on the 3rd of Nov and I will not stop pursuing them for this written and on air apology and will be posting all of the developments on this issue in the near future.



What a difference a day makes to proceedings at the QLD Parliamentary community engagement and the BBQ that followed. History was made on Thursday night 29/10/09 at Parliament House, when members of the LGBT community were invited to an informal community engagement gathering with parliamentary representatives from all walks of politics. The Pollies were out in force and I was happy to be a part of a historic event that I very nearly missed. Around about 100 people from the LGBT community attended the event that was originally organized to include only those who had responded to the RSVP capped guest list. I had heard about this event through the GLBT press and also via word of mouth and was considering going along as one of the T-Girls from my crew to ensure T was not left off LGB. Unfortunately my usual last minute style nearly lost me the chance to visit the Brisbane Parliament House to get a good look at all of its members big and small. I had originally thought it was only the BBQ that was strictly RSVP and from what I could tell that was the impression most people had received from the PR being put out. It struck me during a week of Trans activism against transphobic media attacks, that this could be an opportunity to voice my concerns about the negative anti-Trans proper gander I was seeing and hearing in the media with my local member. I rang the number to make sure it was just the BBQ that was RSVP only to find out that I had missed the boat and was unable to attend this event, and was told that if I liked I could attend the next one. I explained that I really did want to attend and asked if there was anyone from the Trans community coming and was told that they were not sure but would get back to me. Even though it was to be informal it struck me as odd that they were not sure whether the capped guest list included representation from all members of the LGBT community and for a moment I thought I had lost my chance to attend this history making event. The next day I rang again and told the lady on the end of the phone that I really did want to come and that I was surprised that some gauge of who was attending was not in place. I know that it is not considered polite to ask certain questions of who or what people are but I wondered if it may have been wiser to ask people if there was a group that they identified with to gain a perspective of who was taking up the numbers in the capped guest list. It may sound like a silly idea but it does eliminate any chance of the guest list not representing all of the LGBT community that this event was trying to engage with.

As it turns out my wish was granted and thanks to a room change and a call from Paul Reynolds, I was added to the list and the cap was taken off to let extra guests in. Even the BBQ was opened up for all attendees and after a round of welcoming speeches and a few pats on the back of various dignitaries; we were being guided through the processes of accessing our members via the new look “Everyone’s Parliament” website. One notable pat on the back went to Dean Wells for his work on the original Gay and Lesbian law reform bill that as Grace Grace put it, made this night possible as a gathering like this would have been illegal 20 years ago. A marvelous achievement in many minds for most except for the fact that the Transgender section of this bill that had been tirelessly worked on , was cut out and abandoned at the last minute to get it over the line as it was put to me later in the evening. After all of the formal proceedings were over it was on to the BBQ part of the evening and then if you wished you could take a guided tour. The tour was excellent and was given by Paul Reynolds who I found to be very informative and friendly, his candid knowledge was filled with humorous anecdotes and stories that kept us all interested and amused.

Even though I had felt I had missed my chance to talk with my local member during the previous proceedings, I was later given an audience with Dean Wells when he wandered into the Legislative Council forum that my group was being shown through. Paul Reynolds introduced him and once again his achievements with Gay and Lesbian law reform was mentioned, and though I did not want to steal his thunder I did feel it was important to mention the tragedy of my communities omission from this law reform. I asked him why this had happened and though he seemed slightly deflated with my question he replied with some candor that it was what needed to be done to get the bill over the line. This may have made sense to many at the time and with those on that night within the walls of that room, but you could sense the realization of a missed opportunity when I asked him if this was the case then why did it take them 12 more years to rectify this issue and reinstate us to our rightful position. Dean Wells seemed a little lost for words for the one that spoiled what had seemed like a good record and began telling some story about a woman who was refused entry into a place for breast feeding her child. He recounted how he and his wife’s children were very young at the time and I guess he was alluding to the fact that the issues surrounding a woman’s right to breast feed in public also had to be dealt with. I was not trying to be rude or confrontational, I just wanted to keep it real and lend a voice to the countless Transgender people that had endured pain and suffering owing to the 12 years of being left in the wilderness with little recourse for legal protection. I quietly listened while he finished his story about the breast feeding woman and soon after he left. Paul Reynolds then went on to talk with others in the group and when I had a chance I said again that I understood that it may have seemed like the thing to do at the time and meant no offence but I did feel that 12 years was a long time to wait and was a shame. He said that it was once said that an opportunity delayed is an opportunity lost or something to that affect and then he said that he was not sure about that though being the case here, but I had to agree with this statement to some degree. I then went on to tell the story about a Blind Transgender with a Seeing Eye dog who only a few years before the 2003 law reform, was refused entry into a coffee shop because she was Transgender. At this time, her dog had more rights than her. Thanks to this delay in adding Transgender people to this law reform, her dog had the right to go in and enjoy the coffee shop but as a Transgender, she was refused entry. The idea that a human being had fewer rights than a dog seemed to put this delay in the perspective it deserved, and many of the faces in the group conveyed the shock that this story always generates. I am grateful for the work our Politicians have done for us and I hope will continue to do for us in the future.

I am in no way trying to discount the effort and time that goes into this work, but historically in the end this is how it was for our people and it is and always will be our history. To not speak up about this history would only be adding to its tragedy in my mind and speaking of our history and the stories that go with it helps to ensure that it never happens again. Even though in my opinion this night also was well overdue and its existence curiously was nowhere to be found on the Parliament website, overall the night was a fantastic opportunity for our community to engage with our Politicians and learn how to get involved with Parliament and its processes. They are only a website, email or a phone call away and are there to serve our community as well, so give your issues a voice and be heard. As a group of people it is up to us to keep up the fight for the right to fair treatment and equality, don’t ever accept Transphobia and discrimination.

Choose to come together cohesively with your community and continue the good work of those that have fought for the rights we already have. Remember that you are a powerful being with the strength to continue changing the world into a place that welcomes us all and accepts diversity as a natural expression of what it is to be human. Stand up and be counted for who you are and help work towards the fair and happy world you deserve.

Copyright © Robyn Whittaker. 2009.