Councillor Tony Briffa JP has joined OII Australia. Tony has been working as an intersex activist for 15 years; along with Michael Noble and Chris Somers XXY, our vice president, this means that all of Australia’s first intersex activists are members of OII Australia. A deep commitment to Tony’s local community saw Tony re-elected as a genuine independent Councillor in the City of Hobsons Bay, Victoria, in 2012, after first being…
The Senate of Australia is currently engaged in an inquiry on the recognition of foreign same-sex marriages. Tony Briffa married Manja last year, in New Zealand, in a marriage that is not recognised as either opposite sex, nor same-sex, marriage. Tony wrote a personal submission to the inquiry, which OII Australia supported. Tony spoke at a hearing of the Senate inquiry in Melbourne on 21 August 2014, and the Senate Committee reported on 25…
Five years ago today, Organisation Intersex International Australia Limited was officially registered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as a not-for-profit company. We later obtained status as a Public Benevolent Institution, and we remain a volunteer-run organisation, without core funding, nor any significant public or philanthropic funding. Registration followed a dialogue initially established between Karin Gottschalk…
I am a combination of male and female. That is the way that nature made me. And there’s nothing wrong with that. OII Australia and AISSGA board member Tony Briffa appeared in a segment on intersex, trans and gender diverse people tonight on ABC’s 7.30 current affairs programme and a matching news article. Tony did a brilliant job at explaining some of the issues that intersex people face, and raised both the non-consensual…
Rachel Cook in MCV/Gay News Network interviews Tony Briffa in a great extended review of Tony’s life and work, published today. On finding out about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and taking testosterone: At the age of 29, (after she had been in a straight marriage with a man for two years from 19 to 21 and after coming out as a lesbian at 26), Briffa was told the truth about her condition. “I had some idea about what had…
Tony Briffa, our Vice President, is getting married to Manja today in council chambers in Dunedin, NZ. Tony is a Councillor and former Mayor of Hobsons Bay, Victoria. We share Tony and Manja’s excitement! We hope that today is beautiful for both Tony and Manja and we wish them heartfelt best wishes for a wonderful future together. Love and hugs from everyone in OII Australia. Why New Zealand Tony was born in Victoria with Partial…