03/13/2002 "Neighbour ordered to pay A$1,000 for gay vilification"

Neighbour ordered to pay A$1,000 for gay vilification
By Denise McNamara (AAP)

John Dye shouted "poofter" and "faggot" at his gay neighbour Garry Burns, urinated against his door and smeared human faeces outside his flat.

But this did not constitute homosexual vilification accordign to the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal.

Mr Dye was only guilty of that crime when he defaced his neighbour's door by drawing a large penis accompanied by the words "fag lives here, faggots should die".

Mr Dye was ordered to pay Mr Burns A$1,000 and issue an apology over the graffiti at the block of units the two lived in at inner-Sydney Woolloomooloo in August 1999.

The other incidents, which the tribunal found had been proven, did not incite ordinary people to feel hatred towards Mr Burns on the grounds of his sexuality, they said.

"In our view a section of the community would have dismissed this conduct as the rantings of a drunken, possibly mentally-ill individual," they found. The graffiti however "implies that killing homosexuals or violence towards them is a worthwhile endeavour".

After spending $25,000 to take the case to the tribunal, Mr Burns, 44, an aspiring politician who worked in the catering trade, labelled the award "a slap in the face for gay Australians". "I think we can't afford in society to allow people to put us in little boxes. I was born gay, I didn't pick it up at the corner milk shop, we've got a right to live our lives," he said.

"Vilification may come after you you - may not be gay, you may be Jewish, you may be Muslim, you may be Christian, you may be an Aborigine. We must all stand up and stop vilification dead in its tracks.

"The bottom line is this man is a calculating criminal...he set out to create fear and hatred against me because I'm a homosexual. "I'd be hiding like a frightened, nervous Burmese kitten, terrified to come out," he said. He vowed to pursue the case in a higher court.

One of the tribunal members, Tony Silva, concurred with Mr Burns and wanted the award upped to A$15,000 but, as he was in the minority, was overruled. Mr Burns, who was granted a five-year Apprehended Violence Order against his adversary, told the tribunal the abuse against him was akin to a
"pack of white pointer sharks in a feeding frenzy".

Despite moving from the unit block in 2000, Mr Burns told the tribunal he still heard abuse and threats from Mr Dye in the street and at the shop. He has accused Mr Dye of breaching the AVO and the matter is due to be heard at Downing Centre Local Court on March 20.