Tasty nightclub raid
Encyclopedia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
were detained for seven hours, strip search
Strip search
A strip search is the stripping of a person to check for weapons or other contraband.-Legality of strip searches:...
ed and cavity searched
Body cavity search
A body cavity search is either a visual search or a manual internal inspection of body cavities such as for prohibited material , such as illegal drugs, money, jewelry, or weapons...
, and in some cases brutalised
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
, by armed
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
members of Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
.
Tasty
The Tasty nightclub, not widely known to the general public prior to media reports of the raid, was a popular alternativeAlternative lifestyle
An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...
venue frequented by a large number of gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
patrons, and well-known local identities. Though not endorsed by the organisers drug taking
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
was common amongst its patrons. The Tasty events were in some ways a precursor to the later underground rave parties.
The raid
The incident occurred at the Commerce Club, Flinders Street, Melbourne at which the Tasty event was regularly held (patrons typically entered and left via a rear entrance in the more secluded Flinders Lane for their own security).During the raid, which began in the early hours, no patrons were permitted to enter or leave the venue for approximately seven hours. Full nudity was enforced and the searches were performed in full view of other patrons. The strip search, whilst distressing for all attendees, was particularly humiliating for the transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
patrons.
The exact police motivation for the raid is unclear. The predominant sexuality of the events' clientele was well known to police, leading to intense speculation that the club was specifically targeted for reasons grounded in homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
.
The raid resulted in two drug-related arrests, but all charges were later dropped.
Media attention and public backlash
A photograph of the incident taken by a patron holding a camera which, in the darkness, had not been seen by police appeared on the front page of Melbourne's Age newspaper under the headline "Hands Against The Wall". The resulting media attention created a great deal of political controversy, as well as embarrassment to the police force and the KennettJeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
government of the day.
Legal action
The incident led to successful legal action against Victoria PoliceVictoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
with damages of well over A$10,000,000 awarded to patrons. This sum would have been considerably higher had all affected parties come forward - a large number of patrons, fearful of the repercussions of "outing
The Closet
The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...
" themselves in a public forum or reluctant to relive the traumatic experience of the raid, did not participate.
The class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
was run by Gary Singer
Gary Singer
Gary Singer is an Australian politician. He was the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne from 2004 to 2008, serving under John So. He ran to succeed So as Lord Mayor upon his retirement in 2008, but was defeated by former state Liberal Party leader Robert Doyle.Singer has a background as a...
, later Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
.
Although very different in their particular manifestations of activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, the Tasty incident has been described by some as Melbourne's Stonewall
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
, comparable to the latter through its effect on community views and awareness, and resultant reviews of inappropriate police activity.
Documentary
A 52-minute documentary about the incident was made in 2003 to mark its 10th anniversary. The Tasty Bust Reunion was produced by Esben StormEsben Storm
Esben Storm was a Danish-born Australian actor, screenwriter, television producer and director, well known for his work with Australian children's program Round the Twist. He worked to adapt John Marsden's Tomorrow series but lost the rights to the film...
and directed by Stephen Maclean, and includes extensive interviews and insights with patrons, club owners and employees. The documentary was screened on SBS television
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
Australia and released on DVD.
Origins and organisers
Tasty originated at Temple Bar and Nightclub in the Masonic Building, in Flinders Street, Melbourne. Following the closure of the Commerce Club, Tasty moved to Wall Street, Melbourne.Tasty was produced by Razor Promotions: Gavin Campbell, Stephen de Jong and Rhett Adam. Razor also produced 'Savage' at the Palladin Nightclub and 'Bump!' at The Redhead.