Springborg savages ‘radical’ LGBTI community leaders
In an apparent bid to drive a wedge between members of the LGBTI community, Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg has claimed HIV health promoters have sold out the community.
The Courier-Mail reports today that a new study shows programs designed to encourage safe sex may have had an opposite effect.
The study states that between 2011 and 2012, the proportion of gay men having unprotected sex rose from 34.1 per cent to 39.1 per cent.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg told the newspaper the figures are evidence that community organisations, notably Healthy Communities (HC), which he defunded in May last year, had behaved like “radical lobby groups” rather than health advocates.
He said millions of dollars funded by Labor had been a “complete farce”.
“The previous Labor Government squandered the health dollar trying to buy and appease radical political lobby groups rather than investing in serious health outcomes and cultural changes,” Springborg said.
“It means that the so-called gay community leaders that championed these campaigns have completely sold out the people they claim to represent.”
In response, HC said the Minister had a simplistic view of HIV transmission, failing to understand the difference between unprotected sex and unsafe sex, which involved the complexities of sero-sorting.
“Comments by Minister Springborg that ‘so-called gay community leaders’ have ‘completely sold out the people they claim to represent’ are deeply insulting and offensive to the volunteers and staff that have worked tirelessly for the LGBT community over the past 28 years,” HC said in a statement.
“Minister Springborg has declined to meet with Healthy Communities since becoming Health Minister, despite the organisation raising concerns about HIV prevention strategies, LGBT health concerns and requesting meetings with him.”
HC dismissed the claim it was a radical lobby group, saying, “We are a health service organisation providing a range of evidence-based practical health services to the LGBT communities of Queensland. Part of our work also includes identifying wider structural barriers to health (e.g. stigma and discrimination) and advocating for healthy public policy.”
HC cited the successful ‘Rip&Roll’ campaign, which advocated the use of condoms, as an example of its successful health promotion, adding the campaign cost $150,000 to $200,000, “not the ‘millions of dollars’ claimed by Minister Springborg.”
“Minister Springborg seems to believe that showing a picture of a gay male couple is somehow ”radical” and “political” – in fact it’s reality and supported by the vast majority of Queenslanders,” HC said.
“You can’t do effective HIV prevention for gay men if you refuse to acknowledge and show that gay men have relationships. Continuing to treat these relationships as second class increases HIV transmission.”
HC added that in the nine months since its defunding, the Health Department has delivered no HIV campaigns targeting gay men.
- Tags: Blaze, Funding, Health, Healthy Community, HIV/AIDS, Lawrence Springborg, LGBTI Community, LNP, MCV, Paul R Martin, Politics, Queensland, Queensland Pride, SX
About the Author
Andrew Shaw
Andrew Shaw worked in Melbourne's media scene for 12 years as a news journalist, arts writer and editor, before making a sea change to Brisbane to become editor of Queensland Pride in 2012. He was editor of Melbourne Community Voice for six years, worked in the Media Unit at Monash University and was assistant editor/editor of statewide magazines for secondary school students and teachers respectively.
Comments (10)
This is not good news and the scapegoating excuses in the form of misleading unclear statements about the level and nature of HIV health funding made under the previous government is not balanced, justified with evidence, only a loose statistical association association used to leverage political pointscoring, rationaling current health cuts that are either arbitrary or made to satisfy a belief that the L.N.P. are leaving open, which is that GLBT health was overfunded and not adequately delivered without a back up solution, plan or alternative to ensure the promotion of health in a traditionally and unfairly marginalized demographic....so what is the plan for LGTB health that will work and community building mr. Minister? Nothing?
Well said Stephen. There is no alternative plan, just defunding organizations that carry out health promotion work for the GLBTI community. We all know what the pattern.
Springboard has demonstrated a pattern. From watering down Civil Union legislation, to cutting funding for community groups that promote safe sex, we can all see what is going on. The LNP is governing for the private company the Australian Christian Lobby, and is taking a baseball bat to our Civil Rights. They are street drunk with power, and brawling in the streets at the first sign of GLBTI person being treated equally.
Just a few years ago the Queensland LNP called for desert camps to lock-up homosexuals, so I am not surprised they cannot work with good community based groups that promote health such as Healthy Communities.
Glennie, Healthy Communities was funded to work with gay men, there are millions of dollars given out in Qld to other organisations who are tasked to work with other communities to reduce HIV/STIs (e.g. heterosexuals and people from CALD backgrounds). The $2.6M given to Healthy Communities is just a drop in the bucket but Springborg didn't take any funding away from any other organisation, only the money that was dedicated to HIV education for gay men.
Healthy Communities is an LGBT health and wellbeing organisation and was formerly known as the Qld AIDS Council. You should check them out www.healthycommunities.org.au.
I am so angry about these comments by springborg! Seriously, who has sold us out? I think the answer to that is the current state government who has rolled back so many gay rights in this state!! How dare he try to turn us against the very organization that is helping us to survive the decimation of our rights, an organization that accepts us as equal, and does not judge. Absolutely disgusting springborg!!
He is 20 century what do we care really
Springborg makes it sound like HC purposely spent money on a campaign they knew wouldn't work. What a great way to show his ignorance about a highly complex issue whilst sidelining the LGBT community.
I"m confused!!! I thought we had actually confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt that HIV and Aids related illnesses did not belong to the gay community alone! Did Healthy Communities only work with gay men with HIV and Aids related illness? Why are we still de-segregating this extremely important health issue... whether it is a political figure or a health worker /representative for HIV/Aids... surely we are past the stage of saying this belongs to the gay men/community! Or am i just being completely naive?
Does Mr Springborg have some alternative strategy to battle HIV transmission, or is this simply an opportunity to justify their belt-tightening, slander the Labor government and further alienate the LGBT community? I'd really rather hear him talking about what action he's planning on taking, rather than just his ranting about other's alleged inability to get the job done.