Manager's Report

by Phinn Borg

(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.)

The first three months of this year have already seen a lot in the way of events and achievements. In February the Gender Centre facilitated a debate at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts in Pitt Street on the topic of "Where does the T fit in G.L.B.?" We had six guest speakers. On the affirmative side were Katrina Fox (freelance journalist), Mark Orr, President of ACON and Katelund Povey, the owner of Jellyfish Furniture. For the negative were Dr. Tracie O'Keefe, psychotherapist, author and editor, Roberta Perkins, founder of Tiresias House (now the Gender Centre) and Rachael Wallbank, lawyer and advocate.

The one and only Julie McCrossin held the whole thing together and Jade Star performed some songs at the end of the evening. Among the guests on the night were the Honourable Penny Sharpe (M.L.C.) and Superintendent Donna Adney from the Surry Hills Local Area Command.

More than 100 people attended and the evening was a great success according to my feedback. There have been calls for more debates and forums on similar topics. I would like to commend the staff involved. Well done! We are editing the video footage from the night and once this has been done it will be uploaded to the Gender Centre's You Tube site for all to view. A transcript will also be available.

Our relationship with the Inner City Legal Centre grows from day to day, with the I.C.L.C. providing free legal advice at the Gender Centre every month and the sharing of a stall at the Mardi Gras Fair. We also shared a stall at the Surry Hills Market. Both these events were fun, if a little rain-soaked.

The Gender Centre will be running an evening males-only drop-in on the last Friday of every month. This will be a six-month pilot project and if all goes well will be ongoing after the trial period. There will be guest speakers each month, dealing with different themes of interest.

Recently I have been talking with the Kirketon Road Centre on the issue of partnerships and we hope this will result in our securing a nurse to accompany the Wednesday night Outreach Team, ready to deal with medical issues that may arise.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.