A council vote against raising the rainbow flag to mark an international day against homophobia has created a furore in rural Victoria.
West Wimmera Shire council voted down a motion on 20 April to display the internationally-recognised LGBTIQ+ pride flag to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The day is held annually to commemorate 17 May, 1990, when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its classification of diseases and related health problems.
West Wimmera mayor, Bruce Meyer, said a “pressure group” had brought the issue to the fore.
“This flag is only the tip of the iceberg of what they want of us,” he told ABC radio the day after the council vote.
“We’ve got roads that need fixing, we’ve got other sorts of things that have to be done, which is the expectation of local government.
“Gay marriage has been legalised, it’s not the domain of local government, there are lots of issues, you’ve got to equate this to ... there are a many people who want the Marriage Act changed so that 12-year-old girls can marry.
“There are a lot of people who don’t want any age of consent, which would virtually legalise pedophilia, there are all these issues, and they’re not the issues of local government,” he said.
‘Heard those arguments before’
Chair of the Wimmera Pride Project, Scott Robinson, told Guardian Australia that Meyer’s interview left him and partner Patrick Quaine in “a whirlwind of emotion”.
“In the past, the Wimmera Pride Project has reached out to the local shire councils and started the conversation about what it means to the LGBTIQ+ community to raise the flag on significant days like IDAHOBIT,” he says.
“I know that the Victorian Pride Lobby has also had a hand in promoting the Rainbow Pledge and getting councils to sign on to that to whatever degree they’re comfortable with.”
Robinson grew up in rural Canada. For five years, he and Quaine have lived and worked in Horsham Rural City council area, a region that does raise the rainbow flag for IDAHOBIT.
The couple was shocked by the issues Meyer raised in the interview, after which Quaine responded live on ABC Radio.
“We almost couldn’t deal with what was being said, because we’ve heard those arguments before,” Robinson says.
“They’ve always been offensive but they’re just getting tiresome now, that people are still making these sorts of comparisons.
“We know there are LGBTIQ+ people in the West Wimmera Shire, and we know they would appreciate [the council] raising the flag.
“There are other people in West Wimmera Shire who also support our endeavours, our allies, and do not agree with what the mayor has said.
“It is not a sentiment held throughout the entire shire,” he says.
‘Pockets of resistance’
Sharyn Faulkner lives in the Surf Coast Shire, a large rural electorate south-west of Geelong. A spokesperson for PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), she feels the message being sent by West Wimmera Shire council is that most councillors don’t really care about a portion of their community.
“There are still pockets of resistance to acknowledging that LGBTIQ+ are part of our community, and they need just a small recognition,” she says.
“It’s one day. They should be doing all they can do to make every part of their community feel welcome.
“We see so many young people in rural areas who just hide who they are because they’re afraid and they just don’t feel whole.”
A former mayor and councillor of the City of Colac, Faulkner has a gay son and knows the importance of acknowledging young people, particularly LGBTIQ+, in regional towns.
“It gives them the confidence to be able to come out.”
According to Faulkner, the Surf Coast Shire flies the rainbow flag and the transgender pride flag on IDAHOBIT and International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV).
“People driving through will realise this is a safe community, and think, ‘I can stop here and come and live here, because I am acknowledged’,” she says.
“You will lose your young people if they don’t feel safe.”
Faulkner’s comments about the safety of rural LGBTIQ+ come after the NSW government announced a judicial inquiry into gay and transgender hate crimes, which may have ramifications for rural LGBTIQ+.
“So many go to the bigger towns and cities because they don’t feel safe and wanted in their community. This is one small way of acknowledging that you want your young people to stay,” she says.
‘Our business’
Meyer told the ABC he would not reconsider his personal opposition to raising the flag, and that he didn’t see why any particular group should be singled out for special treatment.
“We’ve got Russians, we’ve got Ukrainians, both of them are probably feeling unloved at the moment,” he said.
“Should we then go out and fly a Russian flag one day and a Ukrainian flag the next day and show solidarity to both?
“It is our business. We have decided we want to keep away from social issues.”
But Faulkner believes the rainbow flag poses no threat to community harmony.
“There are LGBTIQ people in Ukraine ... they are all over the world, they are part of every community.”
‘No longer fair’
Rodney Croome is a spokesperson for Just.Equal Australia and lives in rural Tasmania.
He believes that showing support for LGBTIQ+ saves lives and keeps families together.
“LGBTIQ+ young people who take their own lives because of stigma and exclusion make up a significant component of Australia’s alarmingly high rural youth suicide rate,” he tells Guardian Australia.
“Rural communities can ill afford to lose the contributions of any of their young people, including their LGBTIQ+ young people.”
Robinson agrees the debate impacts the mental health of LGBTIQ+.
“We need to get out of this dialogue. It’s no longer fair, because we’re in 2022 and we have these social and moral standards now that we are an accepting and inclusive society, and we need to be promoting those messages so that minority communities can feel accepted and that they have a platform and a space to share their voice and exist,” he says.
According to Robinson, the Wimmera Pride Project plans to continue its efforts to see the rainbow flag flying across rural Victoria.
“Having a flag is a very small but very significant gesture to show that people like us are supported and can exist in this space,” he says.
“Quite frankly it is the easiest way for a council to show support. In 2022, it’s the bare minimum.”
Mayor Bruce Meyer declined to comment.
The Wimmera Pride Project plans to hold a community breakfast for IDAHOBIT on May 17
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org
