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From: Rob.Bates@p1.f381.n634.z3.fidonet.org (Rob Bates)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Australian AIDS News
Message-ID: <28626@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 28 Oct 89 23:13:19 GMT
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GAY PUBLIC RELATIONS A PRIORITY - NEW VICTORIAN AIDS COUNCIL PRESIDENT

(Reproduced with permission from MELBOURNE STAR OBSERVER #107, Friday 20  
October 1989. All rights resevered. (C) Oz Media Pty Ltd Melbourne Australia.)

The 100+ people attending the Annual General Meeting of the Victorian AIDS  
Council/Gay Mens' Health Centre on October 12 were told that building better  
public relations with the gay community is to be a priority of Peter Grant the  
new president of the two organisations.

"According to statistics, there are between 15,000 and 18,000 self-identified  
gay men in Melbourne." he said. "Where are they? Where are the young people? We  
need to make those in our own community aware of our programs."

Grant warned of the possible "fragmentation" of the gay community into  
"pre-AIDS" and "post-AIDS" generations, and stressed the imporatnce of  
"outreach" to youth, bisexuals and others not yet taking the AIDS message to  
heart.

Grant's comments were made in the acceptance speech to his uncontested election  
to the position of President. He described outgoing President Keith Harbour as  
"a hard act to follow".

Also elected unopposed were Vice Presidents Les Taylor (from the People Living  
With AIDS working group) and Betti Knott (from the Organisational Services  
working group). Chris Day was returned as Treasurer of the two organisations.

Eight members were elected to the Joint Advisory Committee (the executiuve of  
VAC/GMHC): Keith Harbour, David Pullen, Ross McLachlan, Laurie Marcus, Garry  
Fergusson, Geraldine Thomson, Jack Sprewitt and James Nielson. They will be  
joined by representatives from the Education and Support Program Groups.

A number of changes to the rules were also passed without debate. Most of these  
changes relate to changed Health Department funding requirements.

The Gay Men's Community Health Centre (GMCHC) was also renamed the Gay Men's  
Health Centre (GMHC).

The only critical note to the evening was sounded by outgoing President Keith  
Harbour, who slammed "some magazine-style gay journals" for ignoring the gay  
community response to AIDS epidemic.

In a thinly veiled attack on the national gay monthly magazines Outrage and  
Campaign, Harbour criticised their lack of recognition of today's gay community  
"heroes".

"Gay pride covers many things," he said, "but for these journals it does not  
seem to cover the fight against AIDS. It needs to."

The evening meeting, which ran for close to three hours, had a generally  
positive, almost festive atmosphere, and was dominated by thankyous, speeches  
and presentations.

Victorian Health Minister Caroline Hogg spoke of the "relentless energy" of the  
two gay community-based AIDS organisations, and of its "rational, positive and  
sensitive" leadership.

A Presidential Award of flowers and a plaque (forthcoming) was made by Harbour  
to "all lovers and partners of people who have died of AIDS and who are living  
with HIV" and was accepted by Andrew Foster, the convenor of the PLWA Lovers  
and Partners Group.

A similar Gay Community Award was presented to the Boilers social group.  The  
longest ruunning gay group in Melbourne (since 1959), the Boilers have raised  
$10,000 for AIDS over the past three years.

Three professional AIDS educators were also honored with awards. Judith Jones  
from the Social Biology Resource Centre, Ian Goller from the Victorian Health  
Department and Geraldine Thomson were all presented with flowers and the  
promise of a plaque.

Honorary Life Memberships to VAC/GMHC were made to outgoing president Keith  
Harbour, Gay Men's Health Centre psychologist Eric Timewell and outgoing  
Vice-President Adam Carr. Carr has now stepped down from the executive for the  
first time since VAC's formation in 1983. Each received a straw hat and cheap  
handbag in preparation for their future roles as "Queen's mums".

In his last speech as President, Keith Harbour outlined some of the  
achievements of the past two years of which, he said, he could feel  
particularly proud.

Central to these, he said, was the diversity and range of AIDS services now  
provided by the organisations, the high rate of use of these services by the  
community and the integration of these services to provide "one stop shopping"  
for people affected by the virus.

Harbour's period as President has seen the organisational integration of VAC  
and GMCHC, the consultation for and drawing up of a "Master Plan" for the  
organisations over the next five years, the development of an independent  
People Living With AIDS project within VAC/GMHC, the beginnings of two  
satellite AIDS Councils in Ballarat and the Barwon region and moves to set up a  
community-run day centre for people with AIDS.

"Excellence is our aim," said Harbour, "and this has been largely achieved."

Congratulating the memberships of the two organisations for their work, he  
said: "The world is a better place because we are here. Feel proud!"

Rob

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