Why sport hasn’t made much progress on LGBTI+ rights since the Sochi Olympics. Athletes from Western nations have various protections, and many now share equal rights in most aspects of the law. But when they travel to compete in countries with regressive human rights records, these protections can be lost.

Australians have voted just as expected! 61.6% of voters said YES in the marriage equality postal survey. 79.5% of eligible Australians returned their postal surveys. The Equality Campaign has described the YES result as a “historic milestone for Australians and a victory for equality and fairness” that sends a powerful message to Federal Parliament to legislate for marriage equality now.

Advocacy ads exploit our emotions in divisive debates. The same-sex marriage debate in Australia was always bound to be divisive and emotive. And as a public vote on whether it should be legalised nears, the role of advocacy ads will become increasingly important in swaying the opinion of undecided voters. 

Legalising same-sex marriage will help reduce high rates of suicide among young people in Australia. Australia remains one of the last English-speaking countries in the developed world not to legally recognise same-sex marriage. If the upcoming postal survey indicates public support for marriage equality...

The Liberal Party has voted overwhelmingly to put its same-sex marriage plebiscite legislation back to the Senate, in a decisive rejection of the push by rebel backbenchers to get a quick free vote in Parliament. If the Senate, as expected, rejects the plebiscite again, the government will move to a voluntary postal ballot – 

High rents and falling patronage force many gay bars to close. After 35 years as one of Sydney’s best-known gay nightclubs, The Midnight Shift, shut its main doors for the last time, leaving only the smaller upstairs bar to open on weekends. In Melbourne, the beloved gay bar The Greyhound (or GH) has also been demolished.

Gay and bisexual men are now four times more likely to attempt suicide in their lifetime than heterosexual men. Researchers now estimate that suicide kills more gay and bisexual men than AIDS. 

Last year I said “Stop the world — I want to get off”... and I got off in Canberra! I had lived in the capital as a teenager and like many of us growing up queer* in what felt like a giant country town, I fantasised about escaping it. A one-way ticket to the USA when I hit 18 was just what the doctor ordered.

PrEP can be difficult to access for gay Australians. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP, is a drug which if taken daily can prevent HIV infection. More than 27,000 Australians are living with HIV and PrEP is a potential game-changer, but it can be frustratingly difficult to access. The drug only offers protection against HIV.

"If my election today shows anything, it is that prejudice has no hold in this Republic." Ireland's governing Fine Gael party has elected Leo Varadkar as its new leader, choosing the gay, 38-year-old son of an Indian immigrant to succeed Enda Kenny as prime minister in a striking sign of the country's rapid social change.