The Liberal National Party (LNP) has only hurt its own election chances by sacking a candidate who attended a swingers' shindig, the Australian Sex Party says.
The LNP's Broadwater candidate, Cameron Caldwell, was disendorsed after it was revealed he visited a Gold Coast swingers' club four years ago.
But Sex Party spokesman Lionel Pack says the revelation would only have boosted Mr Caldwell's chances of winning the seat, currently held by Labor's Peta Kaye-Croft.
Mr Pack said the only reason the admission could have hurt Mr Caldwell was the fact he identified and campaigned as a Christian.
"There is a clear conflict of interest in attending a swingers' club and claiming to be an evangelical Christian," he said.
"Mr Caldwell's behaviour in attending a swinger's club was like a breath of fresh air in the election environment, however it would have been extremely unlikely that he would have declared this interest, while extolling his Christian credentials to the electorate."
The lovely people at Scarlet Alliance have extended an invitation to Sex Party members to join them and other sex worker groups and supporters on the sex worker float that will be taking part in the Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday the 3rd of March - Woohoo!!
Supporting sex workers and their rights is very important to us, so we urge everyone who would like to take part in the parade to join us in marching alongside our sex worker comrades.
Scarlet Alliance and other sex worker groups and supporters are marching under the theme "Save Decriminalisation For Sex Workers Health and Safety in NSW". Here's a link to their facebook page.
While the sex workers float colour theme is red, Sex Party members are asked to wear our yellow party t-shirt (
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). All marchers on the float will also be required to carry a red umbrella (the international icon for sex workers rights.) There will be limited spare red umbrellas you may be able borrow for the march, but if you have your own please bring it along. (Mardi Gras is notorious for rain, so it might be a good idea to invest in a beautiful red brolly anyway.)
To get involved: • Interested marchers need to RSVP by calling 02 9690 0551 to let the organisers know they'll be marching. Leave your name and let them know you are with the Sex Party. • On 3rd March at 3pm, meet at Scarlet Alliance's offices and become part of the fun. The address is 9/245 Chalmers St Redfern (cnr Redfern St), about 5mins walk from Redfern railway station.
Join us, and let's march loudly and proudly down Oxford Street!
We at The Australian Sex Party love it when things get a bit weird. We like pushing the boundaries and opening people's eyes to new and unusual things. We believe in freedom of expression, in freedom of sexuality and freedom to be who you are and do what you love doing. This is part of the reason we are so excited to have Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz coming to Melbourne Fringe to perform their fantastic show Apocostrip Wow. And the other part of the reason is that they are both bloody cool people with amazing stories, skills and lives.
Mat is a thalidomide baby who has shortened arms as a result and goes by the stage name The Freak (with nicknames of Seal Boy or Flipper Boy), but don't think this disability has stopped him from living a full life.
He is trained in martial arts with a second degree black belt, is an accomplished drummer and keyboardist and has been performing on stage and screen since 1996 in everything from documentaries to mainstream TV shows.
Julie is a multi-award winning burlesque performer based in New York City who has performed in burlesque and cabaret shows around the world to critical acclaim and who has been seen in everything from Gossip Girl to playing a lesbian zombie nun in a Lola Rocknrolla film, Night of the Living Gay.
They truly are a remarkable couple and, not only that, after a chat over the phone yesterday to tell me all about their upcoming show, I also discovered that on top of their fantastically full resumes, they're both super nice people to boot.
The Australian Sex Party is a registered federal political party. We represent a diverse group of more than 4,000 members, who are united in a belief of free speech and sexual expression. Since the party was formed in 2009 we have campaigned on a range of issues including law reform in the areas of sexual equality, sex work and gender expression.
We believe that all changes and additions to the existing federal law should serve stated purposes of anti-discrimination law. These include extending legal equality to all people(1) and to eliminating, as far as possible, discrimination based on protected attributes(2). Accordingly, we consider that changes to the federal law should only be adopted if they strengthen existing legislative protections. Anti-discrimination law is enacted to affirm the right of every individual to the protection of the law(3), and as such, we believe that the definitions contained within the Consolidated Act should be broad and inclusive.
This submission does not intend to address all the questions posed in the Attorney-General’s Consolidation of Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Laws Discussion Paper (Discussion Paper)(4). In drafting this submission we have focused on questions related to our policy areas of sexuality(5), gender identity(6) and sex workers' rights(7). However, our decision not to answer certain questions should not be taken as an indication that we are satisfied with the existing law in that area. We believe anti-discrimination law could be much more effective in achieving its aims than it currently is.
The way the terms 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' are protected in the Consolidated Act are a high priority for us and our members. The existing State and Territory protections based on sexuality(8) are inconsistent, inadequate and accordingly, should not be relied on to form the basis of how these terms are defined in the Consolidated Act. Further, we submit that the Consolidated Act must provide far greater protection to people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity than currently exists under State and Territory law.
Dress in your finest Navy/Sailor outfit and join us in the park on the corner of Lakeside Drive and Fitzroy Street, Melbourne at 1pm. March at 2pm sharp. More details.
If you are going to be part of our all singing all dancing Sex Party troop, here are our lyrics, and our fantastic "In the Sex Party" song. ENJOY!
We want you We want you We want you for a new recruit x4
Where can you find pleasure Save Australia's treasures Bringing bigots to their knees
Celebrating freedom Liberties - we need 'em In our homes and in the streets
We have come to fight For total equal rights The way the world was meant to be
Things are picking up - Its time to join the club And love your sexuality
In Australia you can have freedom of choice In Australia you can sing with your own voice In Australia you should have an equal right Public transport should run all night! In Australia we have many different types In Australia, where the nanny state is rife In Australia, get on board and get on deck Government's breathing down your neck!
We want you We want you We want you for a new recruit x4
If you’re feeling sick Of governments restricting Everything you say and do If you’re sick to death Of censors who object To what you can and cannot view If you smoke a herb The cops should not disturb you There are bigger fish to fry Marriage isn’t perfect Anyone can work it Lesbian, gay or bi
