IDAHOBIT Day flag raising

Published on 15 May 2026

Today, we proudly recognised International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia Day (celebrated on 17 May) and stood with our LGBTIQA+ community as we hosted a flag raising in Daylesford at the community flagpole. 

Our Deputy Mayor, Cr Shirley Cornish, made an address at the event (a copy below). Film critic, writer and program director, Cerise Howard was in attendance to help us raise the rainbow flag and provide words of support. There were also members of the ChillOut committee, and representatives from Central Highlands Rural Health and Daylesford College.

At Council, we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming community where everyone feels respected, valued, and free to be themselves.

Cr Shirley Cornish speech

Good morning, I’m Deputy Mayor, Councillor Shirley Cornish representing Hepburn Shire Council on behalf of Mayor, Councillor Tony Clark.

I would like to acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters on which we live and work. On these lands, Djaara have performed age-old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal. We recognise their resilience through dispossession and it is a testament to their continuing culture and tradition, which is strong and thriving.

I would like to welcome you all here today and extend that welcome to Cerise Howard who will speak to us in a moment.

We are gathered to raise the rainbow flag to mark IDAHOBIT, an international Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination.

IDAHOBIT is the anniversary of May 17, 1990, when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases.

While we celebrate this milestone and other advancements in LGBTQIA+ equality, the unfortunate reality is that these are all too recent in our history.

Tasmania was the last jurisdiction in Australia to decriminalize homosexuality in May 1997. That means the majority of Australians today were alive during a time when it was illegal to be gay. The Marriage Equality plebiscite was held in 2017 and while marriage equality was passed, 38.4 per cent of Australians who voted, voted against it.

The first IDAHOBIT was held in 2005 and is today acknowledge by millions of people globally. While IDAHOBIT has evolved over the years, the purpose remains the same – celebrate the progress we have made while also raising awareness for the discrimination that LGBTQIA+ people still face today.

In 2024, Council launched its inaugural Rainbow Action Plan and formally committed to actions that would foster a safer and more welcoming community for all LGBTQIA+ people.

The Plan has helped to ensure that all LGBTQIA+ people feel supported, connected, visible and safe in our community. It has also guided Council in providing an inclusive workplace for staff and volunteers.

At the time of launch, Council was one of only 18 local government authorities in Victoria to adopt an LGBTQIA+ action plan, evidence of our Shire’s role as a leader in gender equality and equity and promoting respect and safety in our community.

But being an ally, isn’t just about plans, flag raisings and big rainbows, it’s about showing up today and everyday for all people. It’s about recognising and celebrating the important contribution that LGBTQIA+ people, businesses and visitors bring to the life of our Shire.

Together we share an inclusive, resilient, vibrant, sustainable, innovate and diverse community.

We gather today to stand against discrimination, to stand against hatred and to stand against inequality.

We stand with the LGBTQIA+ community today and everyday. We all deserve to feel supported, connected, visible and safe in our community.

Please join me in welcoming Cerise Howard.

Hailing from Aotearoa New Zealand, Cerise Howard is a co-curator of the Melbourne Cinémathèque. She is a former Program Director of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (2023-2024) and Artistic Director of the Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia (2013-2018). A Studio Leader at RMIT University specialising in incubating media festivals and interrogating the shortcomings of the canon, her commentary on film can be found across a wide array of outlets, variously in print, online (for example Senses of Cinema) or integrated within home theatrical releases. She talks film on Melbourne radio station 3RRR and plays a mean bass guitar for Age of Monotremes and Queen Kong and the HOMOsapiens.