CO-CHAIR – ILGA OCEANIA REPORT
Since assuming the role
of ILGA Oceania Co-Chair, now in the second month, it has proved rather challenging,
as there was no hand-over or communication from the previous Co-Chairs.
However, with the support help of current Co-Chair (Vanessa Lee-AhMat), the ILGA Oceania
Secretary (Rawa Karetai) and ILGA Oceania Treasurer (Simon Margan), and some very good
consultation with ILGA World (Tuisina Ymania Brown, Luz Elena
Aranda, André
du Plessis, and Daniele
Paletta), we are able to find
some direction to steer this ship on course. No doubt we will weather a lot of
other storms and obstacles! It is important that we look at the bigger picture
and ensure that ILGA Oceania achieves its objectives and adheres to its mission
statement, to support the rights and provide a voice for all people, either
lesbian, gay, intersex, bisexual, sistergirls, brotherboys, queer, gender
queer, trans, whakawahine, tangata
ira tane, mahu, vakasalewalewa, palopa,fakaleiti, akavaine,fa’afafine,
fakaf-ifine, rere etc, of
Australia, New Zealand (Aotearoa) and the Pacific. I originally hail from the Islands of
Samoa (Pacific), and now I am resident in Queensland (Australia). I share with my peers
an interesting history with 30 years of LBGTIQ activism under my belt. I am
committed to sharing the leadership role and doing the hard yards, so that the
Pacific Region that I represent maintains its mana and dignity and that our
voices are heard in this regional space. Elder Portfolio As Sub Committee Chair of the Elder Portfolio, I am
currently part of the LGBTI Royal Commission Advisory Group (National LGBTI Health Alliance) working on the “Voluntary Industry Code of Practice” for
the aged care workforce. Owing to Covid 19, I have
resumed communication with the New Zealand Counterpart “Silver Rainbow”, to
revisit the “Pacific LGBTIQ Elder and Aging” model. On that note, I paid a
special tribute to Moefa’auouo Tanya Toomalatai (Samoa), a Faafafine (Transgender) Pioneer, upon whose
shoulders I stand, who passed-away this week. May she rest in Peace! Covid-19 Impact The Covid-19 pandemic continues to expose the vulnerability
and fragility of the Pacific islands region,
exacerbated by the related issues of poverty, domestic violence, mental health,
discrimination, and stigma. This situation and the stories of the impacted
Pacific Island people were elaborated upon in our first ILGA Oceania newsletter
(no 13) for the year. ILGA Oceania Submissions to oppose Mark Latham’s Bills The ILGA Oceania Co-Chairs were invited by the ILGA World
Co-Secretary General [Tuisina Ymania Brown] to attend the briefing and also workshops, by the LGBTIQ
Organisations in NSW (Australia) on Mark Latham’s initial bill [Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Freedoms and Equality) Bill
2020 (NSW)]. We were duly
acknowledged, and made a submission to the NSW State
Parliament from an indigenous and religious perspective. Since that prior bill,
Mark Latham has introduced yet another bill that again directly attacks LGBTIQ+
people. Mark Latham’s latest bill [Education
Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 (NSW)] harms trans and gender diverse students by denying their
existence and preventing teachers and counsellors from supporting them. Again,
we will offer our assistance to the campaign against these proposed provisions
whenever we can! ILGA Oceania Conference Preparations are well under way for ILGA Oceania’s virtual regional conference and AGM [22 & 24 October 2020]. We ask that all our
ILGA Oceania members support the Board and Steering Committee in any way that
they can. Please contact me [KenMoala[AT]hotmail.com] or Vanessa Lee-AhMat [BlackLorikeet[AT]outlook.com] via the Co-Chairs’ email address [CoChair[AT]ilgaoceania.org]. Have
a wonderful week. Ia manuia 
ILGA
OCEANIA VIRTUAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE / AGM Disability Subcommittee Chair Elections A
constitutional proposal has been submitted for consideration at this virtual
ILGA Oceania AGM [Saturday, 24 October 2020] to add an ILGA Oceania Disability Subcommittee Chair
position into the ILGA Oceania constitution. If this "Disability
Subcommittee Chair Addition" proposal is passed, the change will take
effect when all the constitutional changes from that AGM are registered with
the NSW Department of Fair Trading.
However,
the recent news is that, at the last ILGA Oceania board meeting [Monday, 07 September 2020], we decided to run the
first election for the ILGA Oceania Disability Subcommittee Chair at this
coming virtual ILGA Oceania regional conference [Thursday & Saturday,
22 & 24 October 2020] in a months’ time. The winning candidate will be co-opted
into the position by the newly-elected ILGA Oceania
board, when the changes from the ILGA Oceania AGM are ratified. If you are
interested in running as a candidate for this ILGA Oceania subcommittee chair
position, we recommend registering for this virtual 2020
regional conference and getting your ILGA member (the LGBTI organisation
you represent) to support your nomination.
Loomio Platform Invitation Most of you will have
received an invitation recently to register with Loomio. We have set up
the "ILGA Oceania AGM" Loomio platform in advance of the event, to
encourage those interested in participating in the ILGA Oceania AGM and
Conference to initially register with Loomio ahead of time. The Loomio
platform will be just one part of the multi-faceted multimedia platforms
we will be setting up to facilitate ILGA member organisations, and their
representatives, to participate in this virtual conference, especially the
AGM part of that event. There will be more details on this multimedia
platform closer to the date of the ILGA Oceania regional conference. If your organisation has have not registered with Loomio, do
so ASAP! Let us know if you need the invitation sent out again [Conference[AT]ilgaoceania.org]. Participation Grant
Due to the unusual nature of this virtual
ILGA Oceania regional conference/AGM, and as a result of our response to the
extraordinary conditions of the pandemic that we all find ourselves in, a
number of one-off grants have been organised to facilitate participation in
this event. The participation grant is one of them! A grant from the LGBTI
Language Exchange is available for indigenous delegates of LGBTI organisations
of the Pacific Islands and Australia to pay their ILGA membership fees for this
year (2020) and any outstanding prior years that
prevent such organisations participating fully in the conference. Delegates who
fit that category from the pacific islands and Australia, whose organisations
are not represented on the ILGA World board or ILGA Oceania executive are
encouraged to apply.
There will be a few conferences occurring
over the next month, all of which are virtual forums due to the restraints of
the Covid-19 pandemic:-
Bi+ organisations
across Australia and New Zealand have come together for this Bi+ Visibility Day
event, because it is such an important day for our communities. Visibility goes
a long way towards raising awareness of Bi+ specific challenges and dispelling
stereotypes. This conference is also an opportunity to reflect on the
progress made in our communities since Bi+ Visibility Day began in 1999 and to
celebrate the fabulous, diverse
and awesomely talented ‘bicons’ that make up our
international community. Our Bi+ Conference celebrates community, visibility,
and expression, across Australia and New Zealand, including virtual and
in-person (where safe, legal and possible) workshops,
panels, discussions, groups and even a party. Bi+ is inclusive of all
multi-gender-attracted folk, including pansexual, polysexual, omnisexual,
biromantic, queer and questioning…
GIN
started from a meeting in Sweden (2012) and has become a major
network for an expression of faith for people of all sexes,
sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. GIN is
now organising a Virtual General Members' Meeting (GMM) 14th and
24th October 2020 [#GMM2020], with an online vote
planned for the 21 - 24 October 2020. This will be an opportunity
for you as a member to feed into the direction that GIN is taking and to review
any amendments to our Constitution or By-laws. It is also an opportunity
for you to interact with other members, online. Contact GIN via their at the
Secretariat for more details: Info[AT]gin-ssogie.org
This will be the 4th
biennial ILGA Oceania regional conference, and the first of its kind held in virtual
space. The conference is being organised and hosted by ILGA member
organisations from across the ILGA Oceania region, and
will have participants for every part of the region. The conference is a forum on LGBTI issues
affecting the Oceania region, but also is the highest decision-making body of
this organisation. Contact the conference organisation team for queries
relating to the conference: Conference[AT]ilgaoceania.org
This is a list of deadlines and important events occurring in this
region over the next couple of months:- ILGA Oceania AGM Deadline - Proposals,
agenda items and campaign proposals [submit] Thursday, 24 September 2020 ILGA Oceania
AGM Deadline – Grant applications [submit] Thursday, 01 October 2020 ILGA Oceania
Conference – Day 1 Thursday, 22 October 2020 ILGA Oceania
Conference – Day 2 & AGM Saturday, 24 October 2020
Remember, if you have anything to contribute to
the newsletter just send us an email and we will happily share your
contribution.
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