Caulfield – Aleph Melbourne

David Southwick MP: Statement on disturbing events on the steps of Parliament House – 18 March 2023

Aleph Melbourne is pleased to receive the following statement from David Southwick MP, Member for Caulfield and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party.

STATEMENT ON DISTURBING EVENTS ON THE STEPS OF PARLIAMENT HOUSE – 18 MARCH 2023

The past fortnight has been a difficult time for Victoria’s LGBTQIA+ and Jewish communities.

The shocking events we’ve seen outside Parliament House, where neo-Nazis displayed open hate and vilification towards our Transgender community, do not reflect who we are as a State.

I want to reiterate my support and alliance with the entire LGBTQIA+ community.

Throughout my parliamentary career, I have fostered deep connections with LQBTQIA+ community and have a genuine appreciation for all they do to make our state a better place. Together, we have campaigned to legalise same-sex marriage, ban gay conversion therapy, and stood shoulder to shoulder at pride events.

Victoria is a place where everyone should be free to be their authentic self, regardless religion, race, gender, sexual preference and identity.

My party will work with the government to ensure Victoria Police have the powers, resources and training to stamp out these shocking acts of hate.

As Deputy Opposition Leader and Member for Caulfield, I will continue to call out discrimination wherever I see it and work to make Victoria a more tolerant and inclusive place.

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Aleph Melbourne 2022 Voters Guide for LGBTIQ+ Equality – Victorian State Election

ALEPH MELBOURNE
VOTERS GUIDE TO LGBTIQ+ EQUALITY
VICTORIAN STATE ELECTION 2022
#ALBERT PARK #BENTLEIGH #BRIGHTON #CAULFIELD #CLARINDA #HAWTHORN #MALVERN #OAKLEIGH #PRAHRAN

This guide is designed to inform voters who want to select candidates who have comprehensively demonstrated or pledged support for LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusion.

This election the guide covers Victorian electoral districts (as per 2022 electoral boundaries) with 700 or more people with Jewish religious affiliation as at the 2021 census.

What to look for in candidates that PRIORITISE LGBTIQ+ equality:
* A candidate statement
* [BEST] A comprehensive LGBTIQ+ policy platform and/or unequivocal commitment to LGBTIQ+ issues (green tick)
* [OK] A policy platform that shows some level of support to LGBTIQ+ issues (yellow tick)
* Are declared as an ally or LGBTIQ+

What to look for in candidates that OPPOSE LGBTIQ+ equality:
* A warning symbol against their name in the LGBTIQ+ column
* A policy platform that is inconsistent with LGBTIQ+ equality (red cross)

What if a candidate has not declared themselves as an ally and/or does not have an LGBTIQ+ policy platform?
We recommend you contact the candidate or their party and ask them directly. They have not responded to our emails.

Feedback, corrections and updates are invited via our contact page. Information is provided here in good faith and on the understanding that it is correct.

Aleph Melbourne – 2022 State Election Guide

Albert Park Bentleigh Brighton Caulfield Clarinda Hawthorn Malvern Oakleigh Prahran

Albert Park District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
DRAGWIDGE Georgie	Independent	(not stated)
TAYLOR Nina	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
SAMIOTIS Kim	The Australian Greens	ALLY
ANTUNOVIC Elizabeth	Freedom Party Victoria
BRADEA Viorel	Family First Victoria
SHERSON Lauren	Liberal	ALLY
SMART Lance	Liberal Democrats	(not stated)
WESTWOOD Cassandra	Animal Justice Party	ALLY

Bentleigh District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
GNIESLAW Simon	Independent	ALLY
STAIKOS Nick(incumbent)	Australian Labor Party	(not stated)
GALLI-MCROSTIE Alana	The Australian Greens	ALLY
HARRIS David	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
RYAN Paul	Family First Victoria
TAYLOR-HAYNES Debbie	Liberal	(not stated)

Brighton District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
TIMMS Allan	Independent	(not stated)
SCIOLA Nick	Family First Victoria
DEKIERE Sarah	The Australian Greens	ALLY
GIBSON Sally	Independent	ALLY
FREDERICO Felicity	Independent	ALLY
WALKER Alicia	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
NEWBURY James (incumbent)	Liberal	ALLY
CRAWFORD Louise	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
CASLEY John Tiger	Independent

Caulfield District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
KALTMANN Nomi	Independent	ALLY
EDWELL Lynne	Family First Victoria
IAMPOLSKI Rachel	The Australian Greens
MYERSON Asher	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
SOUTHWICK David(incumbent)	Liberal	ALLY
HAREL Lior	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
ABELMAN Michael	Liberal Democrats	(not stated)

Clarinda District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
WHITE Caroline	Independent
HASTINGS Karen	Family First Victoria
WOLFE Steve	Freedom Party Victoria
VO Hung	Independent
TAK Meng Heang (incumbent)	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
RICHARDSON Anthony	Liberal	(not stated)
MOFFETT Jessamine	The Australian Greens
LITCHFIELD Sue	Animal Justice Party	ALLY

Hawthorn District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
FUHRER Faith	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
KENNEDY John (incumbent)	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
TRIANTAFILLIS Ken	Family First Victoria
PEPPARD Richard	Liberal Democrats	(not stated)
LOWE Melissa	Independent	ALLY
SAVAGE Nick	The Australian Greens	ALLY
PESUTTO John	Liberal	ALLY
BELL Stratton	Democratic Labour Party

Malvern District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
NATOLI Amelia	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
NATALE Darren	Australian Labor Party
O’BRIEN Michael (incumbent)	Liberal	ALLY
STEFANOPOULOS Steve	Independent
SCHMIDT Judy	Family First Victoria
FULLER Mitchell	The Australian Greens	ALLY

Oakleigh District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
MURPHY Dominique	Independent
DIMOPOULOS Steve (incumbent)	Australian Labor Party
SOK Edward	Family First Victoria
GRIVOKOSTOPOULOS Jim	Liberal	(not stated)
KIOUPELIS Parashos	Independent
HSIEH Hsiang-Han	The Australian Greens
FABB Loraine	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
JACOBS Tony	Freedom Party Victoria

Prahran District

Candidate (in ballot order)	Party	LGBTIQA+
LE HURAY Alice	Animal Justice Party	ALLY
LUCAS Matthew	Liberal	ALLY
CHAU Wesa	Australian Labor Party	ALLY
MENADUE Alan	Independent	ALLY
HIBBINS Sam (incumbent)	The Australian Greens	ALLY
EMILSEN Ronald	Family First Victoria

Caulfield Candidates Forum: Changing the Equal Opportunity Act

At the November 9 2022 Caulfield Candidates’ Forum and Q&A, candidates David Southwick MP (Liberal) and Lior Harel (ALP) discuss a Liberal Party proposal to amend the Equal Opportunity Act. Question asked by Caulfield resident David Zyngier on behalf of Aleph Melbourne.

QUESTION FOR DAVID SOUTHWICK BY CAULFIELD RESIDENT DAVID ZYNGIER ON BEHALF OF ALEPH MELBOURNE

“David Southwick has given an iron-clad guarantee that under a Liberal Government any amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act will protect the LGBTIQA+ community from discrimination.*

Hypothetical scenarios aside, can he state what genuine existing problem necessitates an amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act?”

* Candidate statement: David Southwick – Liberal for Caulfield

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION FOR DAVID SOUTHWICK BY LIOR HAREL

“If the roof body for the Jewish community says the law doesn’t need to be changed, and the major Jewish schools say the law doesn’t need to be changed, who are you changing the law for?”

Candidate statement: Nomi Kaltmann – Independent for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Nomi Kaltmann who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your email asking for a candidate statement on LGBQTI+ inclusion.

All persons should be free to live free from persecution and vilification, irrespective of their sexuality, cultural background or religion.

In general, I believe that there are certain principles that should be adhered to when considering legislation, so that it takes into account the needs of LGBQTI+ persons:

People in the LGBTIQA+ community come from all backgrounds and walks of life, so policy should be diverse in reflecting that
Allies of the LGBQTI+ community should ask for direct input from members of the LGBQTI+ community when considering legislative changes and policies
Every person in Victoria and in wider Australia deserves to live without fear of discrimination, and should be able to live without fear relating to their gender or sexual identity
Specific protections should be considered in a legislative framework that provide a strengthened response to higher rates of discrimination that members of the LGBQTI+ community face

I wish you continued success with your important work at Aleph.

Kind regards

Nomi Kaltmann

Caulfield Great Debate: Religious Discrimination

Audio extract from the November 3 2022 Caulfield Great Debate candidates forum, where the candidates discuss the proposed Liberal Party legislation to water down anti-discrimination legislation and how this may adversely impact LGBTIQ+ people.

Speakers: David Southwick MP (Liberal), Lior Harel (ALP), Nomi Kaltmann (independent), Rachel Iampolski (Greens), Julie Szego (moderator)

Victorian Liberal MP Gives Personal ‘Iron-Clad’ Guarantee To Protect LGBT Community From Discrimination | Star Observer

Michael Barnett, co-convenor of Aleph Melbourne welcomed Southwick’s “personal guarantee to look after the best interests of LGBTIQ+ people” but added that the organisation had concerns with the party’s policies.
“I am concerned that the Liberal Party as a whole does not share his strong support for our wellbeing. One just has to look at the untold damage they did to trans people by running an anti-trans candidate like Katherine Deves in NSW in the recent Federal election,” Barnett told Star Observer.
“I am also confounded as to what actual problem the Liberal Party feels it needs to introduce this legislation for. To my thinking they have fabricated a hypothetical scenario and are jumping in to save the day as the good guys. It’s the stuff of comic books, but it’s not funny,” added Barnett.

Victorian Liberal MP Gives Personal ‘Iron-Clad’ Guarantee To Protect LGBTCommunity From Discrimination

Candidate statement: David Southwick – Liberal for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by David Southwick who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

2 November 2022
Mr. Michael Barnett
Co-Convenor
Aleph Melbourne
Via email: michael@aleph.org.au

Dear Michael,

Leading into the state election this November, I wanted to reach out to you and affirm my support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Over the years, I’ve been pleased to join you and members of Aleph at Midsumma and show allyship with a community that gives so much to our state. Our diversity – whether it be diversity of sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, or gender identity – is our strength. Supporting all people, no matter where on the spectrums of sexuality and gender identity they may sit, is a fundamental part of what I believe in.

Recently, the Victorian Liberals supported the Andrews Government in passing laws to outlaw Gay Conversion Therapy. There is no place in Victoria for such barbaric practices and changing these laws ensured that.

The Liberals will protect religious freedoms to allow Jewish schools to employ people who are aligned with their values. These laws will not grant schools any power to terminate staff based on values and no existing staff would be impacted by the changes. Just as importantly, an individual’s sexuality, gender identity and ethnicity would also be equally protected from discrimination and unfair dismissal under these laws. Any proposed changes would only occur after extensive community consultation (including with Aleph) and would need to protect every single Victorian from discrimination.

I want to give you my iron-clad guarantee that any amendment to the Equal Opportunity Act will protect our LGBTQIA+ community from discrimination. As Liberals, our belief in equality is non-negotiable.

In 1981, it was a Hamer Liberal Government that decriminalised homosexual activity. In 2014, I was proud to be part of a Government that took the historic step to expunge these archaic convictions from the record. In 2017, as the Turnbull Government delivered gay marriage, I watched with pride as my former colleague Tim Wilson proposed to his now-husband Ryan on the floor of Parliament. A year later, a Federal Liberal Government put PrEP on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for the very first time.

A future Victorian Liberal Government will deliver a dedicated professional legal support service for the LGBTQIA+ community, which will be based at the Pride Centre. We will also invest $1 million over 4 years into Joy 94.9, so they can continue to bring the community together.

I look forward to continuing working with Aleph to determine where funding, support and advocacy can be most impactful.

After the 26th of November, I hope to stand with you as part of a Victorian Liberal Government that supports, respects and protects every community and every Victorian. We will always defend equality.

Yours sincerely,

David Southwick
Member for Caulfield
Deputy Victorian Liberal Leader

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Candidate statement: Rachel Iampolski – Greens for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Rachel Iampolski who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

Rachel Iampolski
Greens Candidate for Caulfield

Dear Michael and the Aleph Melbourne community,

I want to begin by thanking you, and the team at Aleph, for your ongoing and tireless efforts in fighting for the rights of the Jewish LGBTIQ+ community, and for taking the time to speak with me. As a progressive, queer, Jewish candidate running in the seat of Caulfield, I recognise that I am standing on the shoulders of giants in doing so, and I take this opportunity very seriously.

Throughout our conversation, I was really struck by how you described the advocacy work that you have been involved with as ‘taking 20 years to make something look like it happened overnight’. If this doesn’t highlight the hard work and love that is required to gain traction on these issues, I don’t know what does. I find this sentiment strongly resonates, both as a Greens candidate, and a person involved in progressive politics, as so much of the change we have been fighting for is being gradually adopted now, and while this is extremely heartening to see, it is on the back of so much hard work and a long running grassroots movement of action.

It is also a stern reminder that any attacks against this progress – such as the recent push from the coalition to amend the Equal Opportunity Act is not actually undoing a night’s worth of work, but decades, and as such we need to remain vigilant to any attempts to chip away at the hard-fought for change that we have won.

This is why the Greens have developed, and continue to develop, a robust Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex policy. We will always be vocal in Parliament and in the public arena against political attacks on LGBTIQ+ safety and freedom. The Greens, more than any other political party, will always advocate for the rights of LGBTIQ+ people of Caulfield and beyond, championing diversity and calling out discrimination, bias, and bigotry. As the first party to support and actively campaign to remove discrimination in marriage, we are so proud of what a strong and united community campaign can do to make positive change. Our elected members of parliament and councils, party members, and candidates such as myself, are committed to stand at the forefront of efforts for equal rights, social acceptance, and human dignity for all. The Greens Party is proud of our strong and active LGBTIQ+ membership who have led the way in developing the detailed statement of policies outlined here: https://greens.org.au/vic/policies/sexual-orientation-gender-identity-and-intersex-policy

Yet we have more work to do. With more Greens in parliament, we will push for:

The introduction of comprehensive legislation, including an ‘Equality Bill’ for Victoria with a focus on:

Strengthening the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent all faith-based schools and organisations from discriminating against LGBTIQA+ students, staff and services users.
Giving the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission stronger powers, including stronger investigatory powers and enforceable determinations
Expanding anti-vilification laws to protect LGBTIQA+ people and support victims of hate crimes, including by making vilification and public harassment a crime and legislating to make violence motivated by hate a specific criminal offence
Banning deferrable medical interventions on children with intersex characteristics and restrict all sex characteristic altering medical treatment on intersex people without personal consent or oversite from an independent expert panel
Protecting the important work of the LGBTIQ+ Communities Commissioner and the LGBTIQ+ Taskforce by enshrining them in legislation

We are also pledging $200 Million for a ‘Rainbow State Fund’ for LGBTIQA+ community-led organisations, to further fund and support initiatives such as:

Community controlled LGBTIQA+ services in key areas of need such as mental health, youth services, homelessness and sexual health
Establishing an accommodation facility, with associated support and health services, for trans, gender diverse and non-binary people
Establishing an LGBTIQA+ Community Hub with family services, youth facilities, events, and co-located health services
Investing in additional clinical services for trans, gender diverse and non-binary Victorians
Ongoing funding for pride events and festivals around the state
Social, psychological and peer support for intersex people and their families
Support services for survivors of conversion practices

We are committed to continuing to work closely with the LGBTIQ+ community to ensure that our policies and advocacy work continues to stay relevant and best serve the community.

We hope that part of that ongoing engagement work can be with Aleph Melbourne, and I in particular, if elected, look forward to the opportunity to work more closely with the local queer community and the broader Jewish queer community.

We applaud the work of Aleph Melbourne, who has for more than 20 years been advocating for and protecting the human rights of Jewish LGBTQI+. I look forward to walking with the Jewish Pride Group at Midsumma.

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Iampolski

GREENS CANDIDATE FOR CAULFIELD

rachel.iampolski@vic.greens.org.au
Instagram
Facebook
Website

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Candidate statement: Asher Myerson – Animal Justice Party for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Asher Myerson who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

1 November 2022

Kindness, equality, rationality and non-violence are the core values of the Animal Justice Party.

Our party values and my personal values align very well with the values of equality and dignity at Aleph.

Our current MP, Andy Meddick has been working tirelessly in parliament to create more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces in Victoria particularly for the youth community in areas like Geelong and Ballarat.

I assert that more LGBTQIA+ safe spaces are required throughout Victoria including in the District of Caulfield.

I strongly support LGBTQIA+ organisations in our community.

I am a high school teacher and am proud that I attend a student run lunch club, Q+A (Queers and Allies) to listen to what LGBTQIA+ youth and their needs.

I will support and prioritise the LGBTQIA+ youth voice if elected.

As a party, the Animal Justice asserts that:

Gender and sexuality equality is a fundamental human right and that the health, safety and wellbeing of women, girls and gender-diverse people is paramount.
Reforms are essential to address the causes of gender and sexuality inequality and to protect people against gender and sexuality based violence.
Women and gender-diverse people must be supported, encouraged and empowered to be present and/or prominent in all areas of society, including politics.
Everyone must be supported in informed decision-making with respect to gender and sexual identity;
There must be zero tolerance of sexism, homophobia, queerphobia, transphobia, misogyny and all types of violence (including gender and sexuality based violence) and we must work toward gender and sexuality equality and respect in all areas of society.
Gender-inclusive language should be used.

Candidate statement: Lior Harel – Labor for Caulfield

The following political statement has been supplied by Lior Harel who is running as a candidate for Caulfield District in the 2022 Victorian State Government election.

Aleph Melbourne will endorse all political candidates who unconditionally support equal rights for LGBTIQ+ Jews and whose values align with ours.

26 October 2022

Michael Barnett
Co-Convenor
Aleph Melbourne

Dear Michael,

It was a pleasure catching up with you some weeks ago to better understand the work of Aleph Melbourne as a social, support and advocacy group for LGBTIQ+ persons who identify as Jewish or who have a Jewish heritage.

As we discussed, I remember first meeting you when you came to speak to a group of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students at a Winter Conference in 1999. Your longstanding advocacy for the LGBTQI+ community is to be commended.

I am extremely proud that the current Andrews Government was the first government in the world to formally apologise to people convicted under historical laws against homosexual sex. Since its election in 2014, this Government has introduced a raft of reforms to better the lives of the LGBTIQ+ community. Some of these reforms have included:

Expunging old criminal convictions for homosexual activity
Establishing a Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ communities
Allowing couples to adopt regardless of their sex or gender identity
Banning practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity

I am especially proud of the release, earlier this year, of a landmark 10-year plan to drive inclusion for LGBTIQ+ communities, which was coupled with a $6.5m investment to make organisations safer and more inclusive for LGBTIQ+ Victorians, support the health and wellbeing of people with an intersex variation and continue peer support for trans and gender diverse Victorians. It is important that LGBTIQ+ Victorians have access to specialist and mainstream services that meets their needs, including healthcare services and mental health services.

The Victorian Pride Centre, opened in July last year, is exemplary of the current Andrews Government’s commitment to celebrate and honour all parts of the diverse Victorian community.

Whilst I do not wish to comment in any detail on the position of our political opponents on these matters, I note for the record my great disappointment at the Victorian Opposition’s recent policy pledge to wind back protections from discrimination in religious schools. I see this as an alarming step backwards for all Victorians.

As we discussed, I would be interested in hearing more about where the LGBTIQ+ community believes further funding and advocacy is needed, particularly in the healthcare space. It is my hope that if elected I can be part of an Andrews Government that leads the way in LGBTIQ+ equality, and the celebration of LGBTIQ+ culture and community.

I look forward to catching up again soon!

Kind Regards,

Lior Harel
ALP Candidate for Caulfield

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