Noosa hotel bans gay dance night
Pub manager tight-lipped and forgetful over row
By FRANK WILKIE


A GAY couple who had a private dance party function banned from the Villa Noosa Hotel want to know if Woolworths was homophobic or just the manager of its business partner, MGW Hotels.

The Villa Noosa, run by Woolworth's jointly-owned liquor business MGW Hotels, hosted a gayfriendly dance party organised by Bronwyn and Michaela Noffke on May 29.

The couple's next event, advertised for August 28, was cancelled this week by MGW hotels representative Ron Boyd.

'They tell us we can't get married.

They tell us we can't have kids.

Now they tell us we can't dance,'' Bronwyn Noffke said.

The Noffkes, who run the monthly gay-friendly dances at Maroochydore's Sands Tavern, claim homophobia killed the Noosa function.

'We were told there was one complaint and that it was a family hotel.


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Gay Swiss leaders vow to protect newly won rights


BERNE, Switzerland — A new Swiss law that recognizes same-sex partners as next-of-kin is insufficient because it does not allow for marriage or adoption, according to gay activists, Swiss Info reported. Still, gay rights advocates say a fight for more equality will have to be put on hold until a referendum regarding the new law is held. The country’s parliament last week voted for a new law to allow gay couples to register as partners and inherit each other’s property without tax consequences, the news outlet reported. The law, however, does not give gay couples the right to marry, to adopt children or undergo invitro fertilization. Some religious conservatives already plan to challenge the new law and want to force a nationwide referendum on the issue, according to media reports. Claude Janiak, a member of parliament with the center-left Social Democrats party, said he is content with the changes in favor of gay rights so far. “It eliminates the most important areas of discrimination,” Janiak told Swiss Info.