News //

UQ LNP club criticised over homophobic protest

The UQ LNP Club is no stranger to controversy.

by Lara Sonnenschein

January 13, 2020

Update: Since this article was first published, UQ LNP Club President Wilson Gavin has passed away.

A group of 15 to 20 protesters from the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Liberal National Club have been criticised after a video was released which showed members storming a Rainbow Families Queensland (RFQ) event at Brisbane Square Library.

The RFQ organised the “drag queen storytime” which saw two drag queens reading to children. UQ protesters, including LNP Club President Wilson Gavin, stormed the event chanting “drag queens are not for kids.”

RFQ issued a statement following the incident and apologised to families after many children in attendance were left feeling distressed and unsafe.

The UQ LNP Club has also issued a statement via their Facebook page where they defended their aggressive actions saying they “took a stand to defend LNP values against a corrosive gender ideology.”

LNP Councillor Vicki Howard distanced the student club’s protest from the LNP. “The group that staged this protest have no affiliation with the LNP and the actions of this small group of narrow-minded individuals is appalling.”

The party reportedly resolved last year to disendorse the UQ club, according to a spokesman for Queensland Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington.

This is not the first controversy for the student club. Recently three Gold Coast Young LNP members, including UQ student and student union councillor Barclay McGain, were suspended following a racist schoolies video that went viral.

In 2017, then UQ LNP Club President Kurt Tucker was roundly condemned following comments that he “would have been a Nazi” had he lived in 1930s Germany. The club was also criticised in 2014 for holding an offensive asylum seeker themed pub crawl to celebrate 100 days of no boat arrivals under the Abbott Government.

If you or anyone you know needs help, or someone to talk to: