Green Party founded in home of Gay Man
[The world’s first Green Party started in Bob Brown’s living room in Tasmania
in the early 1970s. He’s one of two Green elected members of the upper house of
the Australian national legislature (Senators), and head of the Australian
Green Party. He’s also, apparently, the first openly gay member of their
Federal Parliament. The Greens apparently beat their “major” parties to the
punch on queer empowerment in Australia by electing the first openly gay and
openly lesbian candidates, and putting up the first transgendered candidate.
Cool stuff! Somehow I missed the bit about him being gay, or I registered
it, and didn’t think anything of the implications until I looked at it in
the context of the Lavender Greens and promoting awareness of queer
electeds.
I think this is powerful stuff - to be able to say that the worldwide Green
movement started in a gay man’s living room, and that in the first country
the Greens organized in, they’ve put the first gay and lesbian candidates
into office. It emphasizes that queer people are integral to the Green
Party’s existence, and it also emphasizes our transnational identity and
ability to draw inspiration from success overseas.
Regards,
Thomas]
Here are some clippings:
Article Dated 31 October 2001
Published In Ananova.com
Correspondent None Given
Article An Australian political party are to field the nation’s first
“intersex” election candidate.
The Greens, who have openly gay and lesbian politician, are to put
forward a candidate in a Melbourne district on November 10.
Tony Briffa was born with male and female sexual organs but was
surgically castrated and raised as a girl. The 31-year-old has now
recognised his true gender by living as a man.
He works as an airline maintenance engineer and will contest the
electorate of Lalor, held by the Labour Party.
The Greens say in a statement the party already had the distinction of
electing Australia’s first openly gay lawmaker, federal Senator Bob Brown,
and Australia’s first openly lesbian politician, Giz Watson, a legislator in
the Western Australia state parliament.
Briffa said the Greens were not exploiting his condition to gain
attention and he was a legitimate candidate: “I would like to think it is
promoting awareness.”
Briffa said he hoped to present to the electorate alternative policies
on health, education, the environment, human rights and industrial
relations. He conceded his chances of winning were slim and said he would be
happy if he attracted four percent of the vote.
Contacts None Given
Link Ananova.com Article
http://www.transgender.freeserve.co.uk/tg/archive/2001-10-12/archive425.html
The Greens
The Greens also have a strong record on our issues. They have the most
comprehensive lesbian and gay policy of all parliamentary parties, and
during the election campaign the Australian Greens led by Bob Brown promised
a ministerial portfolio of lesbian and gay issues. Meanwhile the WA Greens
were the party which most actively pursued improvements to Labor’s sexual
privacy law in 1994. If Bob Brown wins a Senate seat he will be the first
openly gay member of Federal Parliament. However, he may be stymied by a
perception in the Green Party that their up front support for gay and
lesbian issues cost them crucial votes in the Tasmanian and Federal
elections. Like the Democrats, the eastern sea board Greens are becoming
increasingly pragmatic. At the same time the involvement of the WA Greens in
our issues has been spear headed by Christabel Chamarette and may decline
with her failure to win a seat. Should Bob Brown be elected, the fact that
there are substantial differences between the approaches taken by the
Australian and WA Greens may affect the cohesiveness of the Green bloc on
social reform issues. The Greens will need consistent lobbying to keep them
on track.
Ten years ago the election of a Conservative Government would have meant
an end to any discussion of lesbian and gay rights. In 1996 we can be sure
that no matter what Australia’s destiny may be under John Howard, our issues
will have a place somewhere in the new political landscape Our job will be
to ensure that this place is as close to the centre of public debate, and as
beneficial to our community, as possible. Canberra has not closed to us.
Some obvious opportunities for change may have disappeared. But with
ingenuity and persistence we can still pursue important reforms and perhaps
even explore new directions for our community in national politics.
Rodney Croome,
Campaign Coordinator, TGLRG
(this article was published in Brother Sister Magazine in March 1996)
http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/tasqueer/nat_issu/rts_gov.html
SYDNEY STAR OBSERVER, in The Pink Paper, 5th. April, 1996, issue 424, page
7. “Tasmania has elected an openly gay man to Federal Parliament. Bob Brown,
the leader of the Australian Greens, this week emerged as the successful
candidate for Tasmania’s sixth Senate seat. Brown, an environmental activist
who also supports lesbian and gay law reform, defeated Democrats’ incumbent
Robert Bell by a slim margin.”
