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Michael Kirby meets the Ally Network

May 12, 2015

Michael Kirby meets the Ally Network

Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby, AC CMG, took the opportunity to promote social justice to as many people as possible during his visit to UOW on 11 May 2015.

Michael Kirby at UOW on 11 May 2015.

Initially invited to deliver a lecture on North Korea’s human rights breaches and to meet first year law students, Mr Kirby also made time to meet with members of the Ally Network, which provides support to UOW's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning (LGBTIQ) community.

Mr Kirby talked candidly about his life as a gay man and living with his long-term partner Johan and about gay rights in general. The retired judge and United Nations Human Rights Councillor also covered issues such as growing up in a loving family and losing friends to the AIDS virus and encouraged UOW to fly a rainbow flag in consideration of human sexuality as an aspect of supporting human rights.

“The most important thing for LGBTIQ law is to address why 43 of 53 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations still imprison people simply because they are gay,” Mr Kirby said.

Coincidentally, Mr Kirby’s meeting with the Ally Network took place as the Human Rights Commission released a new guide for Australia's most LGBTI-friendly universities with UOW being recognised as a supportive community.

“Acknowledgement of UOW as a LGBTI friendly University is evidence of the great work that UOW is doing in the area of diversity and inclusion,” Julie Croft, a member of the Ally Network Advisory Committee, said.

Ms Croft is also a member of the recently formed Workforce Diversity Reference Group (WDRG), which will oversee the University’s diversity and inclusion strategies for staff and students. “We will continue to make UOW an LGBTIQ friendly place but will also address diversity and inclusion of other groups such as people with disabilities, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and high on the agenda for 2015 is gender equality,” she said, adding that the Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings, CBE, had announced his commitment to Gender Equality and to addressing the Gender Pay Gap at the first meeting of the WDRG.

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