The Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Association (GaLTaS) was an Australian LGBT organisation active from 1991 to 1998 that was established during a wave of gay gang murders, to publicise widespread problems of anti-gay bullying and violence in Australian schools, as well as to offer support and a path to redress for its victims.Singerman, Deborah (18 January 1992). 'Testing Time for School Gays'. Page 36 (full page). The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) It was founded by two Committee members of the New South Wales Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby:NSW Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby Human rights in Australia gay activist Derek Williams, a New Zealand born teacher at Randwick Boys High SchoolCommittee, Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby AGM, July 1990. (Source: Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby Annual Report 1988–1989). Wayback Machine. (Sydney, Australia) and Jennifer Glass, an 18-year-old lesbian New South Wales high school student.Jennifer Glass. Lesbians on the Loose. Issue 14. February 1991. Trove. Williams was subsequently six times re-elected its male co-convenor, and after the resignation of Jennifer Glass, teacher (now lawyer) Jacqui Griffin became female co-convenor for the major part of GaLTaS' significant activism.(January 1996). 1996 'Derek Williams and Jacqui Griffin are the new co-convenors of the Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students' Association'. Sydney's Pride History Group. Wayback Machine. Australia)Zwolsman, Debbie. (July 1992). Dykes drop out while Chadwick stalls. Front page. Lesbians on the Loose. Issue 33, Vol. 3 No 7. Trove. Her GaLTaS SchoolWatch Report, and the association's landmark legal cases representing LGBT+ students and teachers led to changes in government policy that had far-reaching and longlasting impact. Integral to GaLTaS' success was the activism of its student members, and its dialogue with unions, politicians, police, parents, and parent organisations PFLAG and Parents and Citizens (P&C).
History A year into its existence, GaLTaS was registered on 17 September 1992 as an Australian Incorporated Society that was managed by a committee elected at each AGM, headed by two co-convenors. Parents were invited to all meetings, both individually and through the working association with PFLAG and the P&C. Previous attempts to set up support organisations such as the similarly named 'GAYTAS' in 1978 had not survived, with same-sex relationships at that stage still a criminal offence in New South Wales until law repeal in 1984, and in West Australia, Queensland and Tasmania until 1989, 1990 and 1997 respectively.York, Barry. (27 August 2015). 40th Anniversary of Decriminalisation of Homosexuality. Museum of Australian Democracy. However, GaLTaS prevailed after LGBT+ students themselves spoke openly to both LGBT+ media and mainstream media.Totaro, Paola (20 March 1992). 'Student gang forces gay boys to quit school. Front Page. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)Totaro, Paola – Education Writer. (27 March 1992). Gay students are coming out of the classrooms. p.3 – Sydney Morning Herald.Larriera, Alicia (30 March 1992). 'Gays refuse to enroll'. Page 2. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)'(6 June 1992). 'Three Lesbians Quit HSC'. Page 6. The Sydney Morning Herald. (Australia).
Background Incipient moves to establish support networks for LGBT+ students and teachers included the Gay Teachers and Students Group (originally called the 'Gay Teachers Group'), established in Melbourne in 1975. This group spearheaded efforts to reform attitudes in relation to schooling and homosexuality by working with and seeking to influence, politicians and the broader community. In 1978, the group published Young, Gay and Proud, a book written for adolescents exploring a gay identity. An Americanised version of the same name was published in 1980.Young, gay, and proud! 1995. AlyCat Books. Internet Archive. The Lesbian Teachers Group based in Sydney formed in June 1978, with the NSW Gay Teachers and Students (GAYTAS) group forming in 1979. The two groups worked both separately and collaboratively to agitate for change. Despite students being part of GAYTAS's name, the group did not have any student members.McKinnon, Scott. (20 September 2017). Anti-LGBT rights campaigns and the figure of the child/ Australian Women's History Network official website.Marshall, Daniel. (May 2011). Young Gays: towards a history of youth, queer sexualities and education in Australia. No 87, Page 60: The Latrobe Journal, State Library Victoria. Nevertheless, they were attacked in Parliament by Mick Clough, who called for an inquiry to ensure that students were "protected from homosexual pressure".Petitions. Legislative Assembly, Full Hansard, 8 November 1979, Page 2783, 'Gay Teachers and Students Group', Mr R.I. Clough: New South Wales Parliament, Hansard.'Students asked to join gay teachers group says MP'. (9 November 1979). Daily Telegraph. Clough also opposed decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1984.Dunn, Ross. (16 May 1984). 'Gay bill will pass, but with a change'. Front page. Sydney Morning Herald.
Gay Gang Murders The impetus to set up the new association for LGBT+ teachers and students had reached a crucial point following the murder convictions and 18-year prison sentences handed down in 1990 to 8 students (the "Alexandria Eight") from Sydney's Cleveland Street High School and a North Shore Catholic School for the gay-related killing of 33-year-old New Zealander Richard Johnson. Another group of 30 youths aged 12–18 (the "Bondi Boys") were active in throwing gay men to their deaths off the cliffs of Marks Park, Tamarama (colloquially euphemised as "cliff jumping"). As many as 88 men were killed, including Scott Johnson, Ross Warren, Gilles Mataini and John Russell,Deaths of Gilles Mattaini, Ross Warren and John Russell. New South Wales Police Force with their deaths initially dismissed as "suicide", "accident" or otherwise "not suspicious".Goddard, Martyn (6 April 1991). 'Seeds of Tolerance: In The Gay Killing Fields'. Page 39 (full page). Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum. (Australia)Callaghan, Greg. (1 October 2021). A willingness to write crimes off': on the trail of the Bondi killers. Sydney Morning Herald.Timeline for Key Events in the Hate Crimes Journey 1978 – 2018 2 For NSW Parliamentary Inquiry (by Sue Thompson 6.11.18 v.12). New South Wales Parliament. Amid a spate of such attacks,Fenely, Rick. (27 July 2013). Up to 80 men murdered, 30 cases unsolved. Sydney Morning Herald. gay Social Science teacher Wayne Tonks was also brutally murdered by two 16-year-old students from Cleveland Street High School after he had received threats at the school and had his Artarmon flat ransacked. Aside from the two who killed him, Tonks had previously taught three of the boys eventually convicted of Richard Johnson's murder.Goddard, Martyn. (25 January 1991). 'Death Boast'. Front Page. Star Observer (Australia) By 2023, there were still "50 to 100 persons of interest at least known" to NSW Police.Whitbourn, Michaela. (21 February 2023). Police quietly 'reversed' inquest findings on Bondi deaths, inquiry told. Sydney Morning Herald.
Political response In February 1993, Education Minister Virginia Chadwick agreed to a meeting with GaLTaS at the New South Wales Parliament led by Derek Williams with former Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby Co-Convenor, Carole RuthchildSpecial Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes: Statement of Carole Ruthchild. 7 November 2022. Government of New South Wales. and some of the students being subjected to homophobic victimisation and violence at their school.(27 February 1993) Carole Ruthchild, co-convenor of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (GLRL), Derek Williams, co-convenor of Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students (GaLTaS) meet with Virginia Chadwick. Parliament of New South Wales. Sydney's Pride History Group. Wayback Machine. (Sydney, Australia) Following an interview with Chadwick and Williams by Quentin Dempster on the 7:30 Report, Chadwick announced a draft Procedures For Resolving Complaints About Discrimination Against Students,Powell, Sian (7 October 1993). 'Govt bid to outlaw racism, sexism in schools'. Page 3. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) that would provide a means for LGBT+ students to achieve redress and complete their education.Long, Stephen (11 April 1991). 'Education the way to wipe out prejudice'. Page 6. The Eastern Herald (Sydney, Australia) Following the publication of the SchoolWatch Report, this was eventually promulgated in 1996(February 1995). Sydney Star Observer: Issue 253 The NSW Education Minister releases an anti-discrimination policy for schools which addresses lesbian and gay and HIV status harassment and vilification'. Sydney's Pride History Group. (Australia)Procedures For Resolving Complaints About Discrimination Against Students – (whole of document scan) . https://fliphtml5.com/ website. and the New South Wales Education Department also published a revised Resources for Teaching Against Violence kit, which included a substantial section devoted to 'Violence and Homophobia'.Resources for Teaching Against Violence (1996). . New South Wales Department of Education. National Library of Australia. These measures were primarily intended to reverse the escalation of ubiquitous homophobic student invective into serious crime such as assault and homicide that were having life-changing consequences not only for their victims, but also for their juvenile perpetrators.Combatting Homophobia. Education: Vol 73 No 5, 27 April 1992. New South Wales Teachers Federation. TroveMason, Gail (Ed.) & Tomsen, Stephen (Ed.) (1997). Homophobic Violence. Pages 104–117. 'Anti-lesbian/gay violence in schools'. Griffin, Jacqui (GaLTaS Co-convenor). The Hawkins Press. . Australian Institute of Criminology.
The SchoolWatch Report and LGBT+ Youth Hotline
In March 1993, GaLTaS was awarded a Federal National Youth Grant of $30,000 (=c.$72,947.57 equivalent in 2026)Inflation Calculator. by the Department of Employment, Education and Training to establish a toll-free telephone hotline for gay and lesbian student victims of homophobic harassment and violence in schools.(24 March 1993). IN BRIEF: Help for gay victims. Page 4. The Sydney Morning Herald A team of 18 counsellors was trained by GaLTaS parent convenor Kay Humphreys and counsellor Karen ParoissienKaren Paroissien. Senior Project Officer, Office of Environment & Heritage. LinkedIn during May 1993. More than 500 calls were taken after the hotline was launched on 17 July 1993.Parker, Maralyn. (15 December 1993). 'Crisis Line Helps Beat Harassment'. Telegraph Mirror.
Research from surveys conducted by Jacqui Griffin was compiled for inclusion in The SchoolWatch Report : A Study into Anti-Lesbian and Anti-Gay Harassment and Violence in Australian Schools, with foreword by Paul O'Grady MLC and Epilogue by Derek Williams. National Library of Australia.The SchoolWatch Report – (whole of document scan). . https://fliphtml5.com/ website. SchoolWatch was modelled on the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby's Streetwatch Report on anti-LGBT+ violence, launched in 1990 by Police Minister Ted Pickering.STREETWATCH. Issue 5, May 1990. Page 4: Lesbians on the Loose. Trove.
A copy of Griffin's SchoolWatch Report was sent to Mrs Chadwick, who expressed alarm at its findings in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, confirming she had heard "very sad, and sometimes horrifying stories" about discrimination: