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Now that we’ve reached the end of the first quarter of this century, how does the gay report card look?

In 2000, just three years had passed since Tasmania decriminalised homosexuality — it was the last state in Australia to do so. Victoria had an Equal Opportunity Act. Mardi Gras was celebrating its 23rd anniversary. Same-sex marriage in Australia still seemed like a distant dream. 

Since then, the ‘Gay Panic’ defence to murder was abolished, and conversion practices (formerly known as ‘conversion therapy’) was discredited and widely banned. Gay ghettos dissolved into mainstream suburbia. State governments formally apologised to LGBTQIA+ communities for historic wrongs against them. Some governments are now recognising the critical role of activists — who are now our gay elders — established during the AIDS Epidemic, whereby ‘no action without participation’. We have archives that celebrate our gay history. And by 2021, some 40,000 same-sex couples were listed in the census.

Still not achieved, though, is the dream of gay retirement villages, where being gay is not a community novelty, and where we can age with confidence, honour, and a fabulous entertainment agenda. And the companion establishment, the gay nursing home, where there’s no returning to our ‘closet’ days, and respect, dignity, and compassion travel with us until death. 

We still need a change in attitudes from the wider community, where: 

1) being gay (or being in drag) does not immediately equate in people’s minds to paedophilia, but shows tolerance, diversity and mind-broadening possibilities,
2) where transgender sports people are inclusively welcomed in their chosen sport,
3) where certain cultural and religious attitudes finally begin to align with love and understanding. 

We still demand prosecutions for a multitude of yet unsolved gay murders, and more education for the younger generations who have little concept of the history of gay resistance. And finally: where is that much anticipated sequel to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?

All power to the active movers and shakers who will dramatically reshape the next quarter century for us all. You have a busy time ahead.