The days of Shock Jocks stirring up the masses against gays and lesbians appear to be numbered, as Allan Calleja reports.
Support groups in Victoria and around the country are being urged to lobby for law reforms to make it illegal for radio and TV shock jocks to run rampant hate campaigns against gays and lesbians as fodder for cheap ratings grabs.
This follows two landmark court settlements that have forced apologies and cash settlements from the likes of radiomen John Laws (pictured), Steve Price, Radio 2UE in Sydney and the notorious sport and multimedia identity Sam Newman.
Last month Tasmanian gay activist Michael Dempsey settled a three year claim of gay hate speech cases against John Laws, and Sam Newman.
However, news of the success was only made public last week. Both cases have implications for networking TV and radio programs that will have station owners worried about whether programs they are re-broadcasting meet each state’s laws.
In November 2004, John Laws’ morning radio program was networked from Sydney to several radio stations in Tasmania. At the time, gay US television personality Carson Kressley was in Australia to judge fashions at the Melbourne Cup.
Laws told his audience he had a sleepless night over it: "This is a really serious thing. It's not often that I get really worried about this country... Who is this pompous little pansy prig who's strutting around everywhere yesterday, telling Australian blokes how to wear their pocket square?... as he called it. That's poof speak for handkerchief ... Who is he? He might be famous in certain circles, circles being the operative word, we know where they are.”
Laws went on to say he remembered when Australia “was a land of proud, dedicated women and hard-drinking and hard-talking men. M- E- N, men. Why this sudden proliferation of pansies I don't know. It's a major issue”. He then played a track titled ‘Piss Off Pansy’.
Later that month Channel Nine’s Today show, telecast in Tasmania on WIN TV, broadcast comments by Sam Newman, who canned newly elected Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor Gary Singer for saying he wanted to make Melbourne more attractive to gay and lesbian visitors.
Newman: "Do we want to have hordes of lisping, parading people wandering all over the country, all over the state, adding absolutely nothing to it? ... Why do we have to have the whole state infested with people we don't necessarily want? We could organise a cottage industry called sphincter bleaching or something.”
Tasmanian activist Michael Dempsey launched action in 2005 under the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act claiming Newman’s and Laws’ comments incited hatred against gays.
Last month a settlement was finally reached in both those cases, with community organisations standing to gain the full benefit from the confidential outcome.
"I can say I will not benefit personally and that I am very happy with the outcome because it will be of great, on-going benefit to the Tasmanian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community,” Dempsey said.
Legal restrictions prevent him from giving away details of the settlement, but Dempsey is ecstatic with the outcome.
"It's very important than when public figures speak in derogatory terms they are held accountable."
In a second, separate case, Sydney-based activist Gary Burns used discrimination laws to won big against morning radio host Steve Price and Radio Station 2UE for comments about gay contestants on the Nine Network TV show The Block back in 2003.
Under the settlement, which has been made public, Price agreed to read a formal apology during his morning radio show, while Radio 2UE also agreed to place a paid apology in the Sydney Morning Herald and pay $10,000 towards the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.
The station is also required to play a community service announcement voiced by Gary Burns, and pay some legal costs.
Burns is ecstatic that after five years he has won his case following the withdrawal of an appeal by both Price and 2UE.
All parties were due in court to hear the appeal on the June 18, however the case was settled two days earlier – five years to the day the comments were aired.
Burns said he was “over the moon”.
“I did it by myself, with no support apart from friends. I had a belief and you know like Betty Grable said, ‘No guts, no glory’”.
Burns said he has been fighting discrimination for 30 years, having decided enough was enough after three bashings.
For him, taking on the monster shock jocks wasn’t about getting money for himself, but justice against gay vilification.
“I did it so some poor young kid in the western suburbs has a law to support them,” he said.
Both court settlements are based on laws in effect in New South Wales and Tasmania that allow an individual to take action against gay vilification on behalf of a community.
Michael Dempsey says it’s time Victorian gays, as well as those in other Australian states and territories, demand similar laws.
“In Tassie and New South Wales the person does not have to prove they are personally vilified,” Dempsey says.
“It’s much easier to prove a case of pain and suffering of the community as a whole. I would call on all laws to be changed to enable class action against those shock jocks.”
Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
[Section 19] Inciting hatred
A person, by a public act, must not incite hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or a group of persons on the ground of –
(a) the race of the person or any member of the group; or
(b) any disability of the person or any member of the group; or
(c) the sexual orientation or lawful sexual activity of the person or any member of the group; or
(d) the religious belief or affiliation or religious activity of the person or any member of the group.
The days of Shock Jocks stirring up the masses against gays and lesbians appear to be numbered, as Allan Calleja reports.
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