Who is Chris Carter?
The late Chris Carter, who died 19 August 1990, was a tenacious advocate
for human rights and made sure everyone knew that gay rights were human
rights.
He was the first to stand as an openly gay political candidate and was
instrumental in the Democrats being the first political party to support
GLBTI rights.
The following is the obituary that appeared in the October 1990 issue of
the Australian Democrats National Journal...
"Christopher Byron Carter 9.4.1952 - 19.8.1990
Chris died in Perth having suffered from AIDS for many years. He was a
foundation member of the Party and was active at all levels - National,
State and Melbourne branch, and contributed much to our early policy,
being a principle writer of social welfare areas. Chris had a true love of
humankind and a keen sense of the welfare of humanity. Throughout his life
he was concerned for the disadvantaged and the oppressed. He closely
identified with the philosophy of the Party, and was a mentor to many. He
was a member of Don Chipp's staff for many years working in the areas of
education, primary industry, community services, health, etc.
We owe a lot to Chris for our success in establishing the Senate select
Committee on Animal Welfare. As a researcher, Chris constantly kept in
contact with animal welfare groups, alerting them to periods when Labor
was chickening out of supporting the Committee's establishment, urging the
groups to pressure Labor.
Chris was an outstanding Democrats parliamentary candidate. Bruce Errol,
Chris's campaign manager, says it was a joy to work with a person of such
drive and energy. But for his illness Chris could have been our first
House of Reps parliamentarian.
A memorial service was held on 30 August in recognition of Chris's
outstanding work in the community and in placing AIDS on the political
agenda.
And this, from the book PLWHA (VIC), Legends, Positive and Proud, A
Victorian Perspective, published in January 2000....
Chris Carter organised one of the most profound moments in PLWHA activism
in this country: the first public coming out of a group of positive people
on stage at the 3rd National AIDS Conference in Hobart in 1988. This
courageous statement at a time when discrimination and ignorance towards
positive people was rife was a turning point in the epidemic, signalling
that now positive people wanted to have a voice in the decisions that were
being made about them. Chris had already been involved in setting up the
National People Living with AIDS Coalition and became a co-founder of
People Living with AIDS Victoria, established in 1988
Chris helped organise the first public meeting about HIV at the Dental
Hospital in Melbourne, became a member of the Victorian AIDS Action
Committee which sprang from the meeting and played a pivotal role in
building networks with politicians in particular.
During 1983 and 1984 he was an adviser to Don Chipp, leader of the
Australian Democrats, and was able to facilitate the first meeting of HIV
community representatives with the then Federal Health Minister, Dr Neal
Blewett. In the mid-eighties he also played an important role in raising
AIDS awareness through his editorship of the Melbourne Voice (later the
Melbourne Star Observer).
The Australian Democrats have established an annual (sic) Chris Carter
Award for an individual who has contributed in a major way towards
community development and activism. We acknowledge Chris here today as a
tenacious fighter for the visibility of positive people, a founder of
PLWHA Victoria, and one of the single most important leaders of HIV/AIDS
activism in our history."