This information is for Australian Sex Party NSW Members.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Australian Sex Party NSW will be held at the Local Taphouse Hotel, level 1 dining room, 122 Flinders St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 on Saturday 12th May 2012, at 11:30am.

Agenda
1. Annual Report from the NSW Secretary.
2. Annual Financial Report from the NSW Treasurer.
3. Annual Report from the NSW Registered Officer.
4. Election of NSW Executive Office Bearers – see attachment 1.
5. Motions for Amendment to the Australian Sex Party NSW Constitution or Other Codes – see attachment 2.

If you are going to attend the AGM please advise the Secretary by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , fax or letter no later than 11:30am 11th May 2012.

This is a members only meeting.

Lunch, snacks and drinks will be available after the meeting but at your own expense. We hope to see you on the day.

Note: Only current financial members of the Australian Sex Party NSW are entitled to vote on matters put to the AGM. Members’ voting status will be checked on entry. You should bring your Sex Party card as it contains your membership number and it will assist with the attendance registration process at the AGM. If you wish to check your membership status please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sexual Cultures
Theory, Practice, Research

This conference, co-hosted by the Onscenity Research and the School of Arts and the School of Social Sciences at Brunel University, will take place on April 20-22 at Brunel Univesrsity, London, UK.

Keynote and plenary speakers are:

Kath Albury, Senior Lecturer, Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia
Feona Attwood, Professor of Sex, Communication and Culture, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Martin Barker, Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of East Anglia, UK
Meg Barker, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Open University, UK
Judith Halberstam, Professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity and Gender Studies, University of Southern California, US
Katrien Jacobs, Associate Professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong
Sharif Mowlabocus, Lecturer in Media Studies, University of Sussex, UK
Susanna Paasonen, Professor of Media Studies, University of Turku, Finland
Fiona Patten, Australian Sex Party
Julian Petley, Professor of Screen Studies, Brunel University, UK
Clarissa Smith, Reader in Sexual Cultures, University of Sunderland, UK

ALP mayoral candidate Ray Smith has promised to implement a same-sex relationships register for Brisbane City Council if he’s elected at this month’s local government elections.

Smith made the pledge at a community forum at the Wickham Hotel last night which also hosted candidates for Brisbane’s Central Ward from the Greens, Australian Sex Party and Liberal National Party (LNP).

Smith said the policy was in response to a likely repeal of civil unions by the new LNP state government.

Earlier this month, Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie sought legal advice from his department, canvassing all available alternatives including a full or partial repeal of the state’s civil union laws.

Smith’s pitch to the community also included a pledge to establish an LGBTI reference committee and action plan within city council, a $30,000 annual grant to the Brisbane Pride Festival and a promise to sign the Declaration of Montreal on LGBTI human rights.

He’ll go up against incumbent LNP Lord Mayor Graham Quirk at the polls next week.

Quirk was criticised by local activists in March for approving the controversial anti-gay prayer rally – featuring the now infamous ‘hate truck’ – in Brisbane’s King George Square.

The 2012 Queensland local government elections will be held on Saturday, April 28.

Source: StarOnline

While the Australia 21 report has finally concluded that the war on drugs has proved futile, the Sex Party’s rising vote has been directly linked to its policies around drug law reform, according to its president, Fiona Patten. After preferences were distributed following the Niddrie (Vic) by election last week, the Sex Party achieved almost 10 percent of the vote.

“We are the only party to campaign for the decriminalization of all drugs," said Patten. “Our booth workers have told us that there was quite a bit of feedback on the booths about our drug policies”.

The Sex Party vote has been steadily rising since it won 2.2 percent of the Senate vote in 2010. “The madness around drugs continues to escalate with the Victorian police now forming a special ‘bong taskforce,' and last week 13 police officers in Ballarat spent the entire day raiding four shops that were suspected of selling bongs,” she added. “With community attitudes favoring decriminalization, this is a scandalous waste of police resources.”

Patten said that the regulation of drugs in Australia is increasingly moving towards the tough-on-drugs model and that American drug policy dominated Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet discussions of drug law reform. In 2006, Bronwyn Bishop headed the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services, and released a report entitled, "The Winnable War on Drugs: The Impact of Illicit Drug Use on Families."