Letter to ACTQueer

Without any context this will seem odd. But at the same time it might also be quite self explanatory. I don't want to repost the other letters that other people wrote that went alongside it because they were written in a closed yahoo group and I don't think it would be fair.

This is a letter that I wrote that went onto Yahoo Group ACT Queer.

Thanks Stephen(Lawton)for you posts...

I think it's important that when we are talking about our community and how best
to support it that everything is as transparent as possible. We are small enough
and face enough challenges as it is without causing problems amongst ourselves.

I have quite a few questions about Diversity ACT as well, and agree with you in
that many questions don't seem to have been answered transparently or publicly.
There seems to be a lot of contradictory information floating around. I have
worked in the community sector in Canberra for 12 years and been involved on a
number of community organisation's boards. I have also provided training for new
boards of management (in other words, I have experience in setting up and
managing community organisations).

It would seem to me that if a new wiz bang service was going to be set up a lot
of things would be happening, and happening in a transparent way in order to
gain the trust and respect of all stakeholders. The first thing I would have
thought 'we' would have seen is some type of needs analysis to see what the
LGBTI community actually wants and needs and indeed if such a service is
sustainable. I didn't see any evidence of such a needs analysis. This would be
something that would involve many community services. I am well connected in
this area of work and have heard of no such analysis. Also it would be something
that in order to be done properly the whole community would be surveyed widely.
Wouldn't we all want to be supportive and involved if it was for our community?

Another key action, I would think, would be positive relationship building with
other key organisations that provide services the new organisation would be
linking in with and this includes many services that do already assist LGBTI
people but may want or like to be able to refer to a specialist service that is
due to launch. Not all LGBTI people are going to want to access a service that
is 'just for them', in fact, in my experience in the community sector many will
avoid it for a whole range of reasons. Hence relationships with mainstream
organisations is vitally important to ensure everyone's health and well being.

Most new organisations would be seeking a good skill set to ensure that the
'new' organisation had the required set of skills to set it up and keep it
going. Many organisations will have information on their web sites listing the
skills or some information about the committee.

I also have concern that the fantastic work of some people in our community has
been undermined and misinformation fed to the community.

For the record, I have been nominated for a Diversity ACT Award. I found out
about it when someone in a closed facebook group I am part of congratulated me
on my nomination. I thanked and them and said I knew nothing about it. I looked
on the Diversity ACT website and there was nothing about it, it was apparently
announced on QRadio, I looked on the QRadio facebook pages, the Diversity ACT
pages and there was nothing. Today there appeared a listing of nominees in
numerous places. I have no idea what I was actually nominated for (as in the
work that I have done),or what the people nominating know about me.

I agree with you, there is nothing wrong with people receiving awards as
acknowledgment of their work, but to me this seems shallow, as the voting now is
just lists of names with no information about the nominees and what they have
'done'. Not all members of the community know everyone and what they have and
haven't done. I believe it would be more genuine if more information were openly
provided.

I also think a tad more information should be provided to the community if they
are to pay up to $50 a ticket, to an opening to a service that at the moment
seems shrouded in mystery. Who knows maybe after the launch, it will all come
into the light and these questions will be answered.


cheers

Megan Munro