Over a three course meal Marc Fennell guides participants through a discussion focusing on topics ranging from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity, menopause and ageing.

Across, the series the guests are athletes, drag queens, artists, doctors and everyday, yet extraordinary, people, with little in common except the one health condition that binds them.

The dinner party becomes a space for empathy, disagreement, laughter and catharsis – where brain fog, body image, libido and late-age diagnosis are discussed as easily as wine is poured.

In the third episode of the series the topic of ageing is tackled. Sitting at the table is artist Lindy Lee, sexologist Dr Linda Kirkman, dementia advocate Gwenda Darling, and drag performer Stan Munro and Geriatrician Dr John Ward – who was New South Wales Senior of the Year in 2024.

During the conversation Lee notes that while the Baby Boomer generation have had a tendency to focus on materialism growing up in the post-war period they’re also the first generation to tackle many social issues.

“Baby Boomers were born from parents who had experienced war, deprivation, so the moment any sense of prosperity came on, of course people are going to buy houses because it was affordable, so that’s kind of a natural thing.” Lee says during the dinner conversation. “But we also had to contend with misogyny, racism, homophobia, so my generation I think have fought hard for inclusiveness.”

Eighty-four year old drag performer Stan Munro shares his frustration about how call centre operators speak to older people, as well as lamenting his lack of sex life.

“I haven’t been laid for about fifteen years,” he says, “It’s shocking.” Leading to some of the other attendees to suggest that all the action is happening in care homes.

Stan says that on the gay scene, ageism has always been a big factor, and it only gets worse the older you get, which kicks off a discussion about the differences between relationships, intimacy and pleasure.

As Australia’s population ages, people live longer and work longer attitudes to ageing and how to live your life are rapidly changing. While people used to retire in their sixties, now many people continue to work, and Dame Stan has no plans to stop performing. He currently delivers a show called Vintage Drag in Mint Condition.

Heartbreakingly, Stan also shares his fear of getting older and having to go in to care, where he fears he may encounter homophobia.

Across the series many interesting and prominent Australians appear including true crime podcasters, advertising experts, prison reform advocates, mental health experts and reality TV show champions. Plus there’s food writers, Olympians, influencers, famous authors, doctors, fashion designers and journalists.

The four-part series will be available to stream on SBS On Demand from Tuesday, 14 October, and air weekly on SBS, Tuesdays at 8.30pm.

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The Life in Pictures film making competition is excited to announce a meet and greet session for seniors who have a story to tell and filmmakers looking to compete in this year’s short film making competition.

The Life in Pictures Meet and Greet has been designed to introduce seniors to emerging filmmakers wishing collaborate on a submission for the competition.

The competition, which is part of Revelation: The Perth International Film Festival, has three entry categories with a combined prize pool of $20,000 in cash and film entries can be longer than two minutes duration.

The Life in Pictures competition is a unique initiative between government and the arts and is designed to encourage positive discussion about ageing in the community.

Coordinator Ashleigh Nicolau said the event was a great opportunity for people interested in taking part in the competition.

“The Meet and Greet presents a great opportunity to meet others interested in the competition; this event is designed to introduce seniors to filmmakers. For seniors it opens up an alternative pathway to tell their story, if they aren’t confident filming and editing themselves and for filmmakers looking to enter the competition, it is a fast track to willing participants with a melting pot of stories just waiting to be captured. A win win for everyone.”

Further information about the competition, deadlines and workshops for seniors is available here.   

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The third National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Conference is being held in Melbourne at the beginning of October.

This year’s conference explores the ways in which aged and disability services can acknowledge the rich and challenging histories and changing lives of older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people and deliver truly LGBTI inclusive services.

Over two days, older LGBTI people and those who care for them will come together with aged and disability experts and service providers to share experiences and ideas, talk policy and practice, and connect over the common goal of promoting and achieving healthy pathways for older LGBTI people.

The Conference will explore how communities, governments, service providers and LGBTI people can work together to promote and provide healthy ageing pathways for LGBTI people, and ensure the needs of LGBTI people are understood, respected and addressed in Australia’s aged and disability care policies, programs and services.

The conference promises to be an informative and exciting event so be sure to register early and secure your place.

With the resounding successes of the previous LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care conferences, the 2017 Conference is sure to fill early. The preliminary program has just been released and is available on the conference website.

Among the keynote speakers is Victoria’s Equality Commissioner Ro Allen, former head of the Australian Human Rights Commission Professor Gillian Triggs, writer and academic Emeritus Professor Dennis Altman and a range of international and local guest speakers.

Find out more about the conference at their website.

OIP Staff

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The federal government is reviewing the national strategies that support the aged care needs of people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) communities and people across both sectors are being encouraged to put their views.

Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, said that public consultation is a vital component of the reviews and he is asking aged care consumers and carers, from CALD and LGBTI backgrounds, aged care providers and peak bodies to participate by filling out an online survey.

“The CALD and LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategies were developed in 2012 to set goals and actions to better support aged care services to deliver appropriate and inclusive care to all older people from CALD backgrounds and those who identify as LGBTI,” Minister Wyatt said.

“The Strategies are set to conclude by 30 June 2017 to be replaced by a broader Aged Care Diversity Framework.

“The Framework will address the systemic barriers to access of aged care services to diverse groups.

“It will be built on a set of principles to drive change and will be supported by separate action plans to ensure issues specific to CALD, LGBTI, and in turn, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are addressed.

“Expanding the Framework to other groups such as rural and remote, disability, care leavers, veterans and the homeless will be also be considered during the Framework’s development.”

Minister Wyatt said to be effective it is crucial that the Framework be co-designed and draws on the successes and lessons of the existing strategies and is developed in collaboration with consumers, their carers and age care providers.

The minister encouraged people to take 15 minutes and fill out the survey.  Organisations and individuals may also lodge submissions to the review.

The surveys will close at 5pm, 28 April 2017 (AEST) and take around 15 minutes to complete. The submission forms will be open until 5pm, 12 May 2017 (AEST), and will allow for more detailed information to be provided.

OIP Staff

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Older gay men’s concerns regarding ageing and aged-care settings are driven by their class and sexuality, according to new research from Swinburne University of Technology.

There has been a growing focus both locally and internationally into how LGBTIQ people are treated in aged care. Plans for the first LGBT specific retirement home were launched in Melbourne in 2015, while similar projects have been successful overseas.

The new study revealed fears regarding sexuality were found to be strongest among gay men who were considering entering aged-care settings. Their main concern was their sexuality would cause them to be ostracised.

“The fear of homophobia is not necessarily from the staff, the greater fear can be from other residents and their families,” Swinburne Senior lecturer in sociology and history Dr Peter Robinson said.

“There’s both resilience and vulnerability because of the era of when these men came out,” Dr Robinson said of the generation of men facing the prospect of aged-care living after embracing their sexuality in a time of oppression.

Men involved in the study spoke of their concerns regarding care workers and the possible effect of the heterosexist culture, in which opposite-sex relationships are seen as the norm. Some men expected to find homophobic residents, care workers or management in aged-care facilities.

Data from the study came from the interviews of 25 men aged 60 and older in Auckland, London, Manchester, Melbourne and New York.

Proving better standards for ageing LGBTIQ people on the government’s agenda

Ken Wyatt, the newly appointed Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health spoke to Australian Ageing Agenda about the federal government’s work in creating a new framework to ensure diversity in respected within the aged care sector.

“I just had a round-table with representatives of the LGBTI community and I’ve agreed to meet them with quarterly on the framework,” Wyatt told the magazine.

The new framework will outline principles of good practice and also include specific action plans on how to address the needs of different groups of people.

GRAI raises the issue locally

Local community group GRAI: GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc have been at the forefront of creating awareness about the needs of ageing queer people.

The group published a major study back in 2010 called We Don’t Have Any Of Those People Here which highlighted that many service providers in the sector were unprepared for the needs of LGBTI people.

Since then GRAI have delivered workshops and information sessions for many providers and facilitated an ongoing community discussion on the topic.

Next month GRAI has two interesting events on their calendar. On Thursday 9 February End of the Rainbow will feature a talk from leading researcher Dr Kathryn Almac.

Dr Almack will present findings from the latest UK research into the end-of-life experiences and care needs of LGBT elders. ‘The Last Outing’ highlights issues of concern and provides recommendations both for aged care providers and for LGBTI people planning later life or end of life care.

Dr Almack is a specialist in Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care: her research areas include death, dying and bereavement, care-giving and the role of social care. Tickets to the event are available now.

Later in the month on 24 February the group will present Conversations, a masterclass on the needs of older LGBTI people.

Converstions will feature a panel of elders from the LGBTI communities in an open-hearted discussion with aged care providers.

Noting that past histories of profound discrimination have left a regrettable legacy where LGBTI elders have been mostly invisible and poorly understood within the aged care sector, the organisers describe the event as an essential forum for any care provider wishing to provide best practice LGBTI-inclusive care.

OIP Staff

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‘All Things Queer’ RTRFM’s weekly program focussed on LGBTIQ+ issues is on air today at 11:00am.

On today’s show the team have lined up a great series of interviews.

Vice President of Pride WA Graham Lovelock is going to be providing some information on what’s planned for this years PrideFEST in November.

Paul Van Lieshout interviews Dr Catherine Barrett from Celebrate Ageing and the OPAL Institute about work a seminar she conducted for GRAI in Perth last week.

Labor senate candidate Louise Pratt was will be dropping by to talk about the big election issues including negative gearing, marriage equality plebiscites and housing affordability.

Graham Douglas-Meyer interviews author Susan Cottrell about the challenge some parents face when thy’re caught between their faith and their love of a child. Cottrell is the author of the book ‘Mom, I’m Gay: Loving Your LGBTQ Child Without Sacrificing Your Faith’.

Tune in to RTRFM92.1 on your FM or digital radio from 11;00am for ‘All Things Queer’, or listen online at www.rtrfm.com.au. If you missed the show you can listen to a replay on the show’s page. 

OIP Staff

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Last night GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc. (GRAI) celebrated the opening of a new office space in Manning’s South Care facility last night with a sundowner.

South Care provide health and social services to the wider community, including aged care, finances, Aboriginal family support and leadership training. At their Manning headquarters they have a number of community facilities including an activity room and kitchen, op shop and volunteer-run grocery store for those in need.

South Care CEO Dr. Nicky Howe welcomed GRAI to the space, offering them use of a spare office as well as some of the community facilities.

Dr. Howe explained that GRAI and South Care first crossed paths last year through a project called ‘Engaging Young Leaders on Aged Care Boards and Committees’ that aimed to get young people directly involved in aged care. GRAI agreed to become involved with the project and accpet a young person as a board member, a decision that turned out to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two organisations.

“Today, really what’s emerged from that is our absolute delight to be able to support another community-based organisation whose mission… which is really to be inclusive of the mature aged environment.”

GRAI Chair June Lowe said that GRAI’s relationship with South Care offered new possibilities for the wider community. “It is South Care’s property, but they’ve been incredibly generous and said ‘it’s ours, you may use it.’ So this is an extraordinary gift… This is a gift to the whole community, GRAI is a conduit, if you like.”

Lowe also emphasized that GRAI is open to suggestion from members of the LGBT community as to how the space should be used, as they hope to offer a range of options for people to get together.

“We hope that this will become a home for the LGBTI community projects, whether they’re one off or whether they’re ongoing, we know that social isolation is the scourge of older people in general and that problem is amplified by being a member of the LGBTI community” Lowe said.

“I’d also like to throw down the challenge, a challenge to the LGBTI community because we have a reputation of community solidarity and of supporting each other. Well, let’s see that in action. Let’s see what that looks like in action. We have an opportunity now, we have a couple of venues that are available a lot of the time when they’re not inuse for South Care’s purposes. Let’s see how we can extend solidarity across the generations and make sure that we don’t have isolated older lesbians and gays, transgender, bisexual and intersex people.”

GRAI is a volunteer run organisation working to improve LGBTI awareness in the aged care sector and fight social isolation for older members of the queer community.

You can find out more about GRAI on their website and find out more about South Care on their website.

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Jacinta Collins, new Minister for Mental Health and Ageing has defended her past comments and voting record on abortion, access to IVF technology and marriage equality and declared that under her watch the government’s commitment to strategies to improve mental health and ageing for the LGBT population will remain a priority.

The Minister had one of her first public engagements yesterday when she visited Perth to launch new strategies for LGBT mental health and participate in a panel discussion on ageing. OUTinPerth asked the Minister to respond to recent criticisms that she may not be the best person for the job.

Here’s the Minister’s full answer.

OutinPerth: Minister, members of the LGBTI community and the gay press have highlighted previous comments you’ve made, and your voting record, on marriage equality and access to IVF reproductive technology.

What reassurance can you give to this community that under your leadership this strategy will have the same leadership and force that it did under Minister Butler?

The Hon. Jacinta Collins: I think there’s probably three issues in that question. One of them is I’m not Mark Butler obviously, and I know there is even a level of grief about the role that Mark Butler has played in this space, and I think he greatly reflects on, or accepts the compliment that that is for him. As I said, I think his work in climate change for the government at this critical stage will be equally as important.

In relation to my views on a range of policy issues; and I haven’t seen the incident to which you might of reported, I might have followed some of the more general reporting. Can I say, my views around marriage equality, for example, haven’t been particularly accurately represented, this is a problem with politics and the press, so I’d make that one point.

In terms of my views about relationship recognition, I would probably more closely support the position the Labor party had before the last conference of the party. Mostly that’s informed by a concern that we need to bring community consensus to such a reform, and a view about how some other countries have dealt with both the marriage issue and relationship recognition.

Now if that’s characterised unfortunately as being anti-gay, I think that’s quite unfortunate. But I also think that that debate is quite a separate issue to providing appropriate diverse care and support for all Australians. So my assurance in the mental health and ageing space is because I’ve participated in discussions on how you deal with relationship recognition without necessarily concluding that marriage equality is the answer I don’t believe indicates that I’m anti-gay.

In relation to the other issue you raised, which I believe is access to IVF, it’s a vexed political discussion as well. Penny Wong for example confronted it recently, when there was a debate around do you ensure that your child has access to information about their biological parents. Now that’s the sort of issue that I think that when we’re looking at access to IVF and parenting arrangements needs to be part of the community discussion without falling back into a black and white, ‘you’re either pro or against’ discussion, which is unfortunately what usually happens when things then move into the media.

My assurance, and I have made this publicly, is that the government, which includes me, is proud of the programs and initiatives that we have supported to improve both mental health and ageing services in a diverse way which includes LGBTI. I think that there’s no question in that space.

I’ve been disappointed by the nature of some of the media coverage. I become more disappointed when I just see what is just inaccurate reporting move on. I suppose this is a bit of my own venting, but I’ll give you an example.

One of the reports referred to me as using the phrase, “blood on the Medicare card”. I couldn’t even remember the incident where it came from but when I looked at it, I thought “that’s not even the sort of language I use”.  So I went back to the Hansard and what I discovered was that one particular organisation had used that, in a senate enquiry, to describe issues around access to abortion funding at the time and I was actually challenging the use of that expression. So I had something I was actually challenging, well essentially I was verbelled.

That’s life, that politics, but I think I made it pretty clear in my response to that reporting that whilst I can’t be Mark Butler it won’t change the government’s commitment to services in this area.

Read More:

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The Gillard government has introduced the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity an Intersex Status) legislation and passed it through the lower house.

If successfully passed though the upper house, the legislation will make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the reforms were long overdue and commented,

““The absence of these protections at the Federal level means that many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community have been victims of discrimination when accessing accommodation, healthcare, and everyday consumer services.”

The Attorney-General also announced that the government would look to move an amendment to the bill in the senate to insert a qualification on the exception on the exemption for religious organisations for the provision of Commonwealth-funded aged care services.

Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler (pictured), said the amendment would ensure older people would not need to worry about discrimination when accessing aged care services and expressed the view that if providers are receiving tax payer dollars, it is not appropriate to discriminate.

OIP Staff

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