Care assistant tells tribunal he was sacked for being gay


A care assistant from Blakenhall, Wolverhampton has told an employment tribunal that he was unfairly sacked from caring for the elderly because he is gay.

Sean Williams is seeking damages from the Woodhaven residential home where he worked caring for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia. He claims that he was sacked after a years service without his employers carrying out a disciplinary or dismissal procedure.

Mr Williams claims that he was sacked after a years service without his employers carrying out a disciplinary or dismissal procedure. He alledges that the motivation was that he was gay.

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Milestone for gay rights as Indonesia gets first pink guidebook
John Aglionby, south-east Asia correspondent
Friday April 28, 2006
The Guardian

For decades, gay venues in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were forced to operate secretly because of official disapprobation and cultural-religious sensitivities.

But now the acceptance of a homosexual lifestyle in the region has passed a major milestone with the publication of the first gay guidebook to the three countries.

The Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia seeks to "shine a light on an aspect of society that exists in every country around the globe, but has been mostly in the shadows here in Asia", according to its publisher, John Goss.

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Parliament opens gay adoption inquiry


Gay and Lesbian couples in New South Wales (NSW) may be given adoption rights after an inquiry was launched into the legislation this week.

Under the current law, individuals can adopt, but not same sex partners, similar to bans in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, which have all been lifted in the last five years.



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'Register' gay couples: Opposition


THE Australian Capital Territory Opposition says it would introduce a bill to develop a Tasmanian-style registration scheme for gay couples.

The move comes amid plans by the ACT Government to give gays the right to civil unions.