On May 24, the Peel Hotel in Collingwood was granted an exemption to the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act, allowing the venue to refuse entry to all women and heterosexual men.
The exemption was granted by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and will last for three years. The exemption was granted on the basis that a ban on entry for women and straight men will prevent "sexually based insults and violence" towards male homosexual patrons.
As a result of the ruling, the hotel will be able to legally ask people their sexual orientation at the door and turn patrons away based on their response.
On May 28, Agence France Presse reported that Peel Hotel manager Tom McFeely said: "The hotel predominantly markets itself towards homosexual males, towards gay men, and we want to protect the integrity of the venue as well as continue to make the men feel comfortable. When large numbers of heterosexuals or even lesbians are in the hotel that changes the atmosphere and many gay men can feel uncomfortable."
He said he expected a backlash from other patrons, but added: "I'm not worried about it because to be frank I don't really care what heterosexuals or lesbians think."
The VCAT ruling has been supported by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Liberty Victoria.
However, Sally Goldner, media spokesperson for TransGender Victoria, doesn't agree with the decision. "Segregation doesn't stop violence and increases further isolation of a minority group in society", she told Green Left Weekly. "The VCAT exemption only attacks the symptoms but not the cause. If we want to tackle homophobia, we need to look at prejudices in society, what fuels them and how we can change them. A blanket ban on all women and straight men is certainly not the solution."
Goldner also raised the issue of exclusion of transgender people and the complexities of sexuality in general, which cannot be simplistically divided into gay or straight.
"There is also opposition to the ban by bisexuals, who might be allowed into the Peel one night if they are with a gay male, but banned if they are with a female", she said.