Gregory Storer and Michael Barnett awarded the 2025 Sir John Monash Award for LGBTIQA+ Community Leadership by City of Monash.
On Thursday October 30 2025 husbands Gregory Storer and Michael Barnett were jointly awarded the 2025 Sir John Monash Award for LGBTIQA+ Community Leadership by the City of Monash,
The award recognises outstanding achievement by an individual, organisation, agency service provider, group or business who has strengthened the representation and inclusion of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer/questioning and asexual communities (LGBTIQA+) within Monash.
Gregory is a current co-convenor of the Victorian Pride Lobby and committee member of Australia Post’s Post Pride employee group. He recently completed a two-year term on the Monash LGBTIQA+ Reference Group.
Michael is a long-standing co-convenor of Aleph Melbourne, the social, support and advocacy group for LGBTIQA+ people in Melbourne’s Jewish community. He has also sat on the Glen Eira Rainbow Pride Advisory Group since 2023 where he represents the interests of the Jewish community. In 2023 he was awarded an Order of Australia for Service to the LGBTQI community.
Both Gregory and Michael have dedicated themselves to strengthening the lives of LGBTIQA+ people in Melbourne’s Jewish community for many years. In addition to their contributions to Aleph Melbourne, both public and behind-the-scenes, they have been instrumental in running the annual Jews of Pride contingent at Pride March and stall at In One Voice for many years.
Gregory and Michael are passionate about standing up for the rights of vulnerable and marginalised communities, whether it’s LGBTIQA+ people, combating antisemitism, women’s rights, Indigenous rights, or protections for refugees and people seeking asylum.
(L-R) Mayor Paul Klisaris, Michael Barnett OAM, Gregory Storer, Councillor Nicky Luo. Photo by Artificial Studios.
Our determination to shine a spotlight on our marvellous alumni throughout 2023 has resulted in your amazing stories that we have shared with the BHS and wider communities. Thank you for allowing us to do so and thank you for inspiring our students with your careers and achievements.
As a way of recording our stories we have created a Semester One poster which we are sharing to our social media.
It has come up a treat and I wanted you to have a copy.
This photo of Jack Chapman (red top) and me (green top) was taken at Bearaoke at The Laird Hotel on June 14 2012. It was posted to the VicBears Facebook page the following day:
The photo has since been re-used in a November 3 2108 noodlesandbeefleftovers tumblr post (contains adult content):
It’s unclear what the purpose of the photo appearing in the tumblr post is but it may be connected to the sentence:
Jack had been subservient before getting the muscles and way before silicone was in the picture.
Under the VicBears post on Facebook I explained what Jack was doing to me:
I was buying raffle tickets that were supporting the Anti Violence Project. I elected for the “$5 for as many as can fit the length of my inside-leg measurement” option and Jack was measuring me up.
Jack was kneeling in front of me so he could put a tape measure around my leg. It was a beautiful moment of hilarity between Jack and me, but it was nothing more than that.
I would be very disappointed if this photo of us was being used to prove some point about Jack different to what actually happened.
Saturday, 10 November 2018 from 12:00-17:00
The Laird
149 Gipps Street, Abbotsford, Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia 3067
VicBears would like to invite you to celebrate the life of Jack Chapman, one of our nearest and dearest. He touched so many lives not only here in Melbourne but around the world. To know him, was to feel loved.
At his strictest orders, this is not to be a sad or solemn occasion, but one to celebrate the ways he lived his life – limitless enthusiasm, boundless hilarity and unconquerable courage.
The ever amazing boys at The Laird have graciously given us the venue for a few hours and allowed us to extend the invite to ALL of Jacks family and friends. Anyone that knew him or knew someone touched by him is most welcome to attend and make a contribution (not just the men)!
VicBears will also be unveiling a few special surprises on the day to ensure this beloved ranga is never forgotten and continues to make a lasting positive impact on our community for years to come.
Please ensure you RSVP on this Facebook event as light snacks will be provided and drinks will be available for purchase from the bar.
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Even if you can’t be there on the day YOU CAN STILL CONTRIBUTE! No matter where you are in the world…
Prior to the day we are calling for any and all farewell messages, photos, stories or memories of your best moments with Jack. These will be displayed around the venue on the day and made available to his family (so keep them mostly family friendly please) so that they can see how much he was loved and how many lives he touched.
Send your contributions to kevin@vicbears.org.au as soon as possible to make sure they’re included.
I met Jack in 2008 when he was a scruffy-haired teenager. I saw him around the traps for the next few years, then he went overseas, and now he’s dead, aged 28. Farewell Jack.
This week I learnt of the death of Jack Chapman, a young man I first met around 2008.
Jack always made me feel happy. He was someone I saw from time to time at the Laird Hotel, and around bear and gay events.
I wasn’t especially close as a friend, but Jack was there for a chat on the odd occasion, sometimes for a project of his, or for his fundraising for the Victorian AIDS Council.
In this audio clip (extracted from episode 21 of the Cubby House podcast, recorded on September 28 2009) Jack tops and tails the reading Sandra Schneiderman and I performed of Wayne Hoffman’s “A place at the table”:
After some years we kinda lost touch, more because I wasn’t hanging around the Laird as much, and because he wasn’t around either. One day I found out he was actually living overseas, and that he was in a relationship with a guy there. We saw each other at the Laird somewhere around this time (it’s blurry, I don’t recall if he came back or it was before he went away), and that was the last time I saw Jack.
On Wednesday this week (October 17) I was driving back from Bairnsdale to Mallacoota, parked in Lakes Entrance for a break, and Gregory (my husband) forwarded me a message he’d seen on Facebook:
The message was to a photo on a mutual friend’s page. The caption read:
I am saddened and shocked of the news of the passing of jack/tank. R.I.P big fella
I didn’t know Jack was now using the name Tank (or that he had changed his last name).
It turns out his death on October 15 was connected to a lung condition. Dead at 28.
Jack was one of the sweetest guys that had come into my life, and now he’s gone. He did a lot for the community here in Melbourne. I’ll miss him for sure.
Here’s a gallery of a few pics I took of him, or were taken of us, between 2008 and 2012.
POSTSCRIPT (October 20)
Three redacted copies of Jack’s death certificate have surfaced here, here and here. It points to “Silicon Injection Syndrome” as a cause of death. I was not previously aware of this syndrome, so looked it up and found this 2006 article published by the Radiological Society of North America:
Liquid silicone, which is often used for breast augmentation and other cosmetic procedures, can cause respiratory failure if not injected properly by a licensed physician. A study of individuals who underwent illegal silicone injections revealed a high fatality rate from pulmonary silicone embolism, or obstruction of the lungs. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
There clearly needs to be greater education around the dangers of silicone injections for cosmetic enhancement, particular if death is a likely outcome from incorrect administration.
Pride Inclusion Programs are social inclusion initiatives of ACON. ACON was established in 1985 as the AIDS Council of NSW and is now Australia’s largest HIV prevention, HIV support and LGBTI health organisation. An important part of ACON’s mission is to help make the places where our community members live, work, study and play more inclusive of LGBTI people, improving the mental health and wellbeing of our community through the reduction of stigma, discrimination and social exclusion.
Pride in Diversity is one of these programs:
Pride in Diversity is the national not-for-profit employer support program for LGBTI workplace inclusion specialising in HR, organisational change and workplace diversity. Pride in Diversity publishes the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI), Australia’s national benchmarking instrument for LGBTI workplace inclusion from which Top Employers for LGBTI people is determined.
Pride in Diversity, together with ACON, proudly acknowledges the dedication and support from our foundational members who were the early leaders in Australia for recognising and pursuing LGBTI workplace inclusion.
– Australian Federal Police (AFP) – Department of Defence – Goldman Sachs – IBM – KPMG – Lend Lease – Telstra
Principal Partners generously support Pride in Diversity over and above membership through sponsorship or substantial support of signature events and/or publications. We sincerely acknowledge and thank our Principal Partners for 2017. Pride in Diversity Principal Partners (via membership) are recognised on the List of Members page.
– Accenture – Deloitte – Dell – Deutsche Bank – Goldman Sachs – IBM – Lendlease – Macquarie Group – Out Leadership – PwC – The Star Entertainment Group – The University of Queensland
In 2017 IBM declared their “support of the LGBT community” by introducing a rainbow logo:
Mark Allaby is IBM’s Financial Market Expert:
As of May 31 2018 the public ASIC register indicated Mark Allaby was still a Director of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute:
In March 2017 The Australian reported that Mark Allaby had resigned as a board member of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, but either that news story was lacking factual accuracy, or LMI had breached their requirements to update ASIC of a change in board membership.
To help understand the ideology of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, it is helpful to know that it is an initiative of the Australian Christian Lobby. This is evidenced in the ACL’s July 5 2018 newsletter:
It is also evidenced in the WHOIS record for lmi.org.au, which shows the domain name is currently (and was previously) registered to the Australian Christian Lobby:
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2018-07-07T08:19:45Z <<<
Alongside LMI’s Mark Allaby is Lyle Shelton, also a Director on the board:
Lyle Shelton is the immediate past Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby. He stepped down from the role, and the organisation’s board, on Feb 2 2018 to pursue a career in politics as a senatorial candidate for the Australian Conservatives.
Martyn Iles, the current ACL Managing Director, also happens to be on the LMI board as Secretary:
Adding to the litany of anti-LGBTIQ equality personalities on the LMI board is Lyle Shelton’s disgraced ACL predecessor, Jim Wallace:
The ACL and Lyle Shelton have a strong record of opposing equal rights for LGBTIQ people and eroding their dignity. This has been an obsession of Lyle Shelton and the ACL going by an analysis of Lyle’s Twitter output while he was employed by the ACL.
The Lachlan Macquarie Institute board is peppered with people whom many would consider to be the arch enemies of the LGBTIQ community.
Mark Allaby’s presence as a Director of the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, an organisation that in no way distances itself from the hateful and intolerant values of the Australian Christian Lobby, makes it clear that he shares the values of the board members he sits amongst, and of the organisation that enables his board.
LMI claim they “prepare Christian men and women for leadership and public service”:
As a centre for leadership and public service, we offer a range of short and long programmes for people of varying ages and professions. Each programme targets specific areas of public engagement, including public service, policy, politics, law, education, not-for-profit, and church. Programmes combine Scripture, social analysis, Christian apologetics, lawmaking, political science, and philosophy.
It is beyond belief that as an employee of IBM, a foundation member of ACON’s Pride in Diversity program, Mark Allaby shares an iota of his employer’s values when it comes to LGBTIQ inclusion and diversity.
It is beyond belief that Mark Allaby could be considered a role model in providing respect and dignity for his transgender and gender diverse co-workers or clients.
It is beyond belief that Mark Allaby could, with any shred of sincerity, afford respect for his co-workers or clients in same-sex marriages, considering the gargantuan campaign the ACL promoted and funded to oppose the passage of marriage equality.
It is beyond belief that IBM, by employing a person who is a Director of an organisation that prepares people to erode the legal equality of LGBTIQ Australians, could be sincere in its responsibility as a foundation member of ACON’s Pride in Diversity Program.
It is beyond belief that ACON are genuinely committed to “improving the mental health and wellbeing of our community” by keeping IBM as a member of their Pride in Diversity Program while Mark Allaby is simultaneously an employee of IBM and associated with the prominent anti-LGBTIQ-equality Lachlan Macquarie Institute.
ACON needs to sort this mess out, because until they do, their programme will remain a disgrace.
I discuss my activism and the recent smear campaign by The Australian on JOY 94.9 Saturday Magazine.
On Saturday April 8 2017 I was interviewed by David “Macca” McCarthy on JOY 94.9’s Saturday Magazine regarding my activism and the recent smear campaign by The Australian and other News Corp media outlets.
