Manager's Report

by Elizabeth Riley

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

N.S.W. Police Service Transgender Policy

There have been no further developments here but no hitches either so I anticipate an outcome soon. The policy will definitely improve our expectations of fair and equitable treatment from the police as well as employment prospects within the service. As previously stated, full details of the policy will be published when finalised and adopted.

Department for Women Working Party

The rewrites to the Public Sector Employees Handbook have been finalised and I expect the document to be officially adopted in the near future. The working party has been meeting now for a total of three years and it was decided at the last meeting, with the completion of the handbook, that further meetings would not be scheduled unless a matter arose that might fall within its parameters.

I would like to commend all the people who participated in the working party for their dedication and commitment to furthering the rights of transgender people.

Gay Games

Jack and I attended a meeting with representatives of the Gay Games and other interested parties to present our case for inclusion and participation. Most of those attending were supportive of transgender inclusion. Only one person adopted the opposing view expressing concerns about the unfair advantage factor of transgender women in women's competition.

It seems likely that the submission we put forward will form the basis of Gay Games policy which they are aiming to complete within the next few weeks. One addition that they will be developing is a strong dispute resolution mechanism.

If all goes well the Sydney policy will be a dramatic improvement over the policies of the previous gay games held in Amsterdam and New York. Keep your fingers crossed, start removing the cobwebs from the old sports gear, and I will keep you informed of developments in the next edition of Polare.

Metropolitan Community Church

While I personally hold no particular religious affiliations, nor do I seek to promote any, I recently had cause to meet with Pastor Greg Smith of the Metropolitan Community Church. I found him to be a lovely man and his church enormously acknowledging of diversity. Anyone in the community wishing to pursue their religious practices would find this church wonderfully accommodating. They are located at 96 Crystal Street, Petersham.

A short report for this edition but as I indicated at the start, the wheels are turning, but there are few outcomes at this stage.

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