Pride in Defence by Noah Riseman

Author:Noah Riseman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melbourne University Publishing

Conclusion

On 24 November 1992, the CDF sent out a message, which stated:

Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, will now be able to serve their country in the ADF without restriction … The central element of the new policy is that sexual relations and activities are primarily and predominantly a private matter for each individual, and that the ADF has no concern with the sexual activities of its members provided they are not unlawful and are not contrary or inconsistent with the inherent requirements of the ADF.115

As this chapter shows, this final order to permit LGB people to serve openly came after more than two decades of courageous advocacy from LGB activists, service members, veterans and allies. Whether testifying before royal commissions, writing letters to politicians, sending anonymous letters to the press, demonstrating in public or confronting their chains of command, these brave men and women all challenged discriminatory policies and entrenched homophobic attitudes within the ADF. When the ban eventually was put on the political agenda, Attorney-General Michael Duffy championed the push for its repeal, overcoming divisions within his own party.

Interestingly, though, most interview participants who served when the ban was lifted have no memory of that historical moment, or have only vague memories of seeing an announcement or some discussion in the mess hall. ‘Simon’, who was serving on HMAS Moresby when the ban was lifted, even goes as far as to say: ‘I don’t remember it actually being much of a thing. I reckon it was more of a thing that Sydney won the Olympics, because “the winner is Syderney [sic]”, that was the big thing.’116

Reflecting the views of many other ex-service members, former RAAF member Craig Cahill summarises: ‘It was a non-event, in my opinion. I felt relieved because I don’t have to deny it if anyone asked me, but there was still a lot of homophobia. Homophobia doesn’t vanish overnight.’117 As chapter 5 shows, this was most certainly the case for many LGB Defence members. Although they could no longer be dismissed because of their sexuality, being openly gay, lesbian or bisexual was a still risky business for the next decade. The 1990s and early 2000s proved to be an era when courageous LGB service members and allies would need to challenge deeply entrenched cultures and policies that continued to discriminate.

Notes

1 ‘Navy men discharged’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 1971, p. 3. See also ‘Sailors out’, Canberra Times, 26 January 1971, p. 3.

2 John Ware, to the Hon. D.J. Killen, 25 January 1971, reproduced in ‘For Queen and country’, CAMP Ink, February 1971, p. 12.

3 D.J. Killen to J. Ware, 5 February 1971, reproduced in ‘Killen Replies’, CAMP Ink, March 1971, p, 11.

4 ‘So you want to be a WRAAF?’, pp. 4–5; Hadrian, ‘Homosexuality in the forces’, p. 4; ‘Royal Australian Navy orders’, CAMP Ink 3, no. 7 (1973), pp. 4–6; ‘Letter received from the Department of Defence’, CAMP Ink 4, no. 5–6 (1975), pp. 11–12.

5 Shilts, Conduct Unbecoming, esp. pp. 205–372; Eric Marcus (ed.), Making

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