This is just pathetic. A old gay couple of a 50 year relationship has received a threatening demand from it's body corporate to take down a gay flag from their balcony, or face legal action in court. The only reason given was that it was considered "advertising material" (WTF?) and was affecting the "peaceful enjoyment" of other residents. Also some bla about uniformity of the outside of the building.
What a load of crap. It was only put out on special occasions and not a permanent fixture. If it was an Australian flag on Australia day would there be a fuss? Or any other kind of flag representative of our country and it's immigrant roots, would there be a fuss? No. This is homophobia, using the system in a particularly nasty way, to get their way.
Please sign Pauline Pantsdown's petition here to allow this couple to display their flag on their balcony.
Murray Sheldrick, 78, and James Bellia, 72, received what they said was a "nasty" email from the Melbourne Inner City Management Property Owners Corporation on Wednesday last week, demanding that the couple remove the flag from their Rouse Street balcony, or risk a legal case in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The letter, seen by Fairfax Media, warned the couple were in breach of the owner's corporation rules affecting the "peaceful enjoyment" of the other residents.
The breach was described as "displaying advertising material" and the residents were instructed to remove the flag immediately. It was unclear from the letter what was being advertised.
Mr Bellia said the couple, who have been in a relationship for 50 years, and own their property, bought the flag in February. They have since complied with the demand and removed it from their balcony.
They said they had unfurled it on special occasions, including Australia Day, Queen's Birthday and the Midsumma Festival, but this was first time they received a complaint.
The couple wrote a letter to the Victorian Ombudsman last week about the incident, but were referred to Consumer Affairs Victoria.
They also contacted Port Philip Council, and are awaiting a response.
Mr Bellia said he and his partner, who are former interior designers, were in no doubt that the email was homophobic. sign petition here for them to display it.
Update:
Nearly 6,000 have signed the petition so far, and lawyers have come to the aid of this old couple to represent them for free.
Human Rights Law Centre’s Anna Brown told The Age that the order from the owners corporation had “restricted the rights of these men to express a political view and positively affirm their identity”.
“This enforcement action is not only harsh but could be subject to legal challenge if it goes beyond what is permitted by the body corporate rules or those rules have been applied in a discriminatory way, for example if only the pride flag has been singled out,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kliger Partners’ Rochelle Castro, a lawyer who specialises in legal cases concerning body corporates, told The Age that there was nothing in the Owners Corporations Regulations banning a flag on a resident’s balcony.
She also said the flag was a temporary feature – unlike the permanent, fixed nature of blinds or curtains that could be regulated – and that the argument that the rainbow flag was a form of advertising would not succeed in a court case. Star Observer
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