– Federal Parliament has passed Australia’s own version of Magnitsky Laws, which allows for targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights violations. Emma Hoy spoke with one of the bill’s key supporters, Federal Greens Senator Janet Rice about the legislation, along with Nic Holas from the Victorian Pride Lobby about how they’d like the new legislation used to target abusers of queer people around the world.

– The Federal Coalition is pushing new legislation pitched as an anti-trolling bill. However, many have critiqued the legislation as doing little to stem trolling, instead they say, stifling free speech by making it easier for defamation lawsuits to be launched along with being a further erosion of online privacy. Pearl Cardis investigates.

– Discussions of the religious discrimination bill being pushed by the federal coalition often frames religiosity and queerness as mutually exclusive. That’s of course far from the case. There are many people of faith that are at risk of being impacted by the legislation. James Pembroke has spoken with several of them.

This is our final episode for 2021 and the last for Executive Producer Gavin Height at the helm. A massive thank you to all the hard work of The Informer team this year – Ryan Sambell, James Pembroke, Pearl Cardis, Emma Hoy, Hailey Pham, Chloe Macmillan, Shannon Colee, Dom Hennequian, Jack Cranjin, and Yuan Zhong. And thanks to you, our listeners, for tuning in. Have a great summer!

The post Aus passes Magnitsky laws, activists call for Chechen leaders to be targeted | Critics of proposed ‘cyber-bulling’ law say it will only make defamation lawsuits easier | Religious Discrimination Bill won’t protect those who face discrimination says gay Christian man | The Informer – 9 Dec 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– World AIDS Day is 1 Dec so we look back at two stories from this season. One looks at exciting new research being undertaken in Melbourne into a potential cure for HIV, while in the other, we look into the concerning rising HIV infection rates in Indonesia.

– Continuing our retrospective – back in August when Australia pulled its last troops out of Afghanistan, unlike other western countries it refused to take in more refugees. Months later the Australian Gov has still not changed its policy, despite wide-ranging criticism. We spoke with Dennis Altman at the time who wrote an open letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne.

The post World AIDS Day | Dennis Altman on Aus Afghan refugee refusal | The Informer – 2 Dec 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The federal government has tabled its long-awaited Religious Discrimination Bill. The legislation would weaken some existing protections for LGBTQIA+ Australians and has been roundly condemned by queer advocates, among

The post Religious Discrimination Bill legalises discrimination opponents say | MQFF rebuffs calls to cut film funded by Israeli gov | The Informer – 25 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– New research by Vic Pride Lobby finds the vast majority of queer Victorians surveyed don’t trust or feel safe around police. We speak with Nic Holas of the Lobby

The post Majority of queer Victorians don’t trust or feel safe around police survey finds | Vic LGBTIQ Commissioner on the issues facing our communities | The Informer – 18 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The Victorian state government has proposed changes banning deferrable medical interventions on intersex children until they are able to consent. The changes have been welcomed after years of

The post Trans activists attacked by far-right mob in Bulgaria | Paediatric surgeon comments on proposed intersex surgery ban | The Informer – 11 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The board of Sydney Mardi Gras has proposed changes to its constitution that would mean a significant portion of the board is appointed by other board members, not elected

The post Sydney Mardi Gras board proposes change to constitution | How has the Melbourne arts community survived the long lockdown? | The Informer – 4 Nov 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– As Melbourne emerges from another tough long lockdown, we hear from some queer pubs about how they’ve managed while their doors were shut and how important queer spaces are

The post Queer pubs emerge from lockdown | First-hand account of queer life in Burundi | What’s happening for Aussie Ace Week? | The Informer – 28 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.

– The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a report recommending non-medically necessary interventions on intersex children be banned until they are able to give consent. We speak with intersex advocate, Tony Briffa, who has been calling for the changes for years.

– Although abortion was ruled a constitutional right in the US in the 1970s, opponents have long tried to restrict access through various state legislation. Texas has passed laws so strict it’s essentially a de facto ban. We investigate how women’s constitutional rights have been circumvented.

– New pop-up Covid vaccination clinics specifically tailored for the queer community open this week. We speak with Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, about why vaccination clinics for the queer community are helpful, and about the impact lockdowns have had on the queer community.

– A private prison in Victoria was nominated for a trans inclusion award, angering some in the queer and First Nations communities.

The post Human Rights Commission calls for ban on intersex child surgeries | How has Texas banned abortions? | Vic LGBTIQ Commissioner #FabJab interview | Vic private prison nominated for trans inclusion award | The Informer – 21 Oct 2021 appeared first on The Informer.