BY AMANDA LEAHY
ALICE SPRINGS — The "Alice in Wonderland" gay and lesbian festival was held here, March 10-17. Activities included a dance, a film festival, a pool night, a cabaret and a day at the races.
In response, there were numerous hate-filled, homophobic letters published in the Northern Territory's newspapers and an 800-signature petition calling for the Alice Springs council to ban the festival.
Ruth Ratcliffe, organiser of the Darwin Resistance branch, condemned the outcry, describing it as being "typical of the hysteria created by conservative groups, governments and capitalist media which target minority groups to divert attention from the economic divisions in society".