SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Socially conservative Pacific Island support base speak out on homosexuality

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Embattled David Cunliffe will formally step down as Labour leader today – amid a warning that the party’s socially conservative Pacific Island support base does not want him replaced by Grant Robertson.

Robertson has strong caucus support. But Cunliffe loyalists point to the backing he has from the Pacific Island community in South Auckland. Labour held the Mangere, Manukau East and Manurewa electorates at the election, although its share dropped by around 5 percentage points.

One community leader, who did not want to be named, said many in the community were uneasy about tactics used in the last week to force Cunliffe out. And Robertson’s homosexuality clashed with socially conservative attitudes of voters, who would turn instead to NZ First, he said.

‘‘If Labour want to go from 24 [per cent] to 14 and put NZ First from 10 to 19, that’s the way to go. He won’t unify the party. He will destroy the South Auckland power base, that three Ms.

‘‘It’s not so much Grant, it’s what aligns with their beliefs … it will probably be a tipping point.’’

Full story:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10558668/Cunliffe-formally-steps-down

 

“Gay” prime minister of NZ may be ‘a step too far’ – says transsexual former Labour MP

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Georgina Beyer, the world’s first transsexual mayor and a former Labour MP, warned in late August 2013 that New Zealand is not yet ready for a “gay” prime minister and may be seeing a social conservative backlash.

With the Labour leadership yet again up for grabs, it again raises the question of whether Grant Robertson, the “gay” deputy leader, could be elevated to head the party, making him a strong possibility for prime minister [in the future].

But Beyer, who was an MP for eight years until 2007, said in late August 2013 that Labour needed to be realistic.

“I don’t think we’re ready yet,” she said…..

Grant Robertson, who is currently contending for the Party’s leadership against David Cunliffe, who recently resigned, acknowledged on TV3’s The Nation on Sunday 28 November 2014 that the fact he was “gay”, might stop some people voting for him, just as the fact “I like rugby and drink beer might be an issue with some people as well”. In trying to trivialise the “gay” issue which has proven problematic and cuts very deep with his Party’s largely conservative Polynesian base, he may well run the risk of being perceived as insensitive to their deeply-held cultural and religious views. [Read more…]

Labour Party to look at ‘fairly representing’ gay members in Parliament

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The 97th Labour Party conference held in Christchurch over the weekend of 1-3 November 2013 approved a remit that required its party list to “fairly represent” gays and lesbians among its selected candidates. The inference implicit in the wording of the remit was that the existing Constitution did not allow for a “fair” representation of such people on its party list.

The Conference delegates voted to delete Rule 293 of its Constitution which had stated:

“There shall be no barriers to nominees on the grounds of sexual orientation or marital status” Gender, ethnicity, age and disability are active criteria listed above.”

Unhappy with the comprehensive and perfectly adequate protections afforded its openly “gay” aspiring candidates – protections that are fully in harmony with the Human Rights Act 1993,  those seeking a more “pro-active” position on the advancement of gays and lesbians, rather than one based on merit alone, sought radical change to the Constitution. [Read more…]

HIV, Hepatitis C, banned “gay” blood donors & defamatory claims of “homophobia”

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In Australia, about 2,000 people currently living with HIV are also living with hepatitis C.

Figures from the New Zealand Ministry of Health (May 2012) indicate there were 721 people in NZ being treated for hep C in 2009, 578 in 2010 and 478 in 2011.

The NZ AIDS Epidemiology Group reported on 8 March 2012 that in 2011 there were 109 people newly diagnosed with HIV in NZ. Group director of the NZ AIDS Epidemiology Group, Otago University associate professor Nigel Dickson, said that a recent Auckland study had found about 20 per cent of a sample of gay and bisexual men with HIV were unaware of their HIV status.

If such men, unaware that they are infected with HIV and/or hep C, are both sexually active, promiscuous and fail to wear a condom during sexual activity, there is a real risk of both diseases being transmitted to their male partners (and in the case of bisexual men, being passed to both their male and female sex partners). Because the HIV virus is unable to be detected by blood tests until about 3-4 weeks after infection, men who have sex with men (MSM) are prohibited from donating blood if they have engaged in anal sex or oral sex, with or without a condom, at any time in the five year period prior to donating blood.

Data from PHARMAC showed the number of people in NZ receiving subsidised antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV rose from 1348 at the end of June 2010, to 1518 at the end of June 2011. Of those 80 per cent were males, and 20 per cent were females. It was estimated, 1603 people would have been on ART at the end of 2011.

With the recent passing of a bill by the NZ government legalising same sex marriage (SSM), opponents of the bill are predicting a rise in the numbers of people being treated for HIV/AIDS and other STDs prevalent among MSM.

On 1 December 2011 The NZ Herald reported that 3474 Kiwis had been diagnosed with HIV since it first appeared and about 680 of them have developed AIDS and died. Jane Bruning, director of a national support network for Kiwis affected by HIV, was reported as saying that somewhere between 1800 and 2500 people were living with HIV. She said there are hundreds more who have the virus but don’t know it. And others who won’t admit they’re infected (confirming Nigel Dickson’s assessment noted earlier).

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C was thought to be rare but recently there have been increases in the number of transmissions attributed to sex among “gay” men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia, particularly men living with HIV.

These increases have also been reported in numerous locations overseas, including in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America.

Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights activist and academic who currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group, and is National Convenor of the Australian Marriage Equality. He has accused the Australian Red Cross Blood Services of “homophobia” for having a policy that refuses to allow men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood. In the light of data provided above it is obvious why it is imperative that Red Cross ignore the fallacious, vexatious and defamatory accusations made by “gay” lobbyists such as Croome.

Further Reading

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), has produced a website (http://www.thenewdeal.org.au/) designed to provide gay men with information about:

  • sexual transmission of hepatitis C and how to prevent it,
  • testing for and treatment of hepatitis C
  • information about HIV and hepatitis C co-infection.

AFAO President, Willie Rowe, points out why the website is needed: “With the recent increases in gay men getting hep C through sex, it is important they are informed about the risks and what they can do to address them.”

Hepatitis C is a significant health issue in its own right but there are particular health concerns for people living with HIV.

Robert Mitchell, President of the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) explains why this information is important for HIV-positive men: “Having both HIV and hep C can have serious impacts on the health of HIV-positive people. It can make treating both viruses more difficult and can also increase the progression of hep C and liver disease.”

References

New Zealanders Living with HIV

By Nicky Park. December 1, 2011

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10769971

HIV and Hepatitis Co-infection

Dual Strategies: managing HIV and hepatitis coinfection

http://www.afao.org.au/library/hiv-australia/volume-8/no.-1-hiv-and-hepatitis-co-infection

Hepatitis C New Zealand Treatment Numbers 2009-2010

June 11, 2012

http://hcv.org.nz/wordpress/

NZ HIV infection numbers drop

8 March 2012. By Michael Daly. Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/6545845/NZ-HIV-infection-numbers-drops

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis_of_HIV/AIDS

http://www.afao.org.au/news/the-new-deal-gay-men-sex-and-hep-c

Rodney Croome, “gay” blood donor ‘rights’ and “gay sex” HIV threat

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It is a well documented fact that the HIV virus is spread primarily via unsafe sex practices engaged in by MSM (men who have sex with men i.e active homosexual men). In July 2012 National Media Manager of the Australian Red Cross, Kathy Bowlen, stated:

“Sexually active gay men make the vast majority, about 90 per cent of people who contract HIV”.

A recent survey of New Zealand gay men undertaken in conjunction with the NZ AIDS Foundation revealed nearly two thirds of gay men are drug users, and the majority also cheat on their partners, frequently. The survey found that 35% of NZ gay men have sex with between 12 and a hundred different strangers every year.

Promiscuous homosexual men (see note 1) who engage in anal and oral sex with multiple partners are at real risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (see note 2) and passing it on to their sex partners. There is a risk that bisexual men who have engaged in anal sex with homosexual men and contracted HIV will pass it on to their female sex partners.

In Australia MSM are not allowed to donate blood at the risk of passing on blood-borne diseases, unless they declare that they have been celibate over the previous 12 months. Australian “gay” lobby groups are infuriated at the Red Cross, arguing there is discrimination regarding blood donations.

In New Zealand MSM are prevented from donating blood if they have engaged in anal or oral sex, with or without a condom, in the five year period prior to their application to be a donor. This is termed the five year “deferral policy”. The same prohibition applies if they have received payment for “gay” sex. This effective ban reflects the higher risk for those in the MSM group of contracting HIV, compared to those in other groups.

Kathy Bowlen confirmed that Red Cross’s testing of blood is not infallible and therefore MSM is a risk group.

“The problem [with MSM] is there is a window period in which someone has contracted the disease [HIV/AIDS] and this is not able to be picked up in testing.

“Gay women are able to donate which shows that the Red Cross is not discriminatory [against “gay” men].

“The entire focus with regard to blood donations and responsibility revolves around ruling out the risk.”

Bowlen’s comments effectively destroy the spurious accusation made by Rodney Croome, currently serving as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group and is National Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality, that sexually active homosexual men (MSM) are being discriminated against in being prevented from donating blood.

Croome insists that every homosexual male actively engaged in anal and oral sex (MSM) has a human right to donate blood to Blood Services Agencies. He claims:

” The best blood donation policy screens potential donors for the safety of their blood rather than their gender.”…

“We know know that HIV is spread by unsafe sex and not gay sex; therefore there needs to be a shift in focus when discussing blood donation”

However, he ignores the fact that the prohibition is not  based on gender, but rather it is based on known real risk. He ignores the fact that HIV testing is problematic due to the dormancy period of the virus, which means that even if a negative HIV test is given for a “gay”  blood donor, there remains a real risk he may unknowingly carry the virus. The real risk of HIV being present and going undetected, rules all MSM out as blood donors.

Rodney Croome wants to politicise the issue of blood donor policy for the purpose of his “gay” ‘rights’ agenda: including the drive to “normalise” the sexual practices of “gay” men. The ‘victim’ mentality engaged in by homosexual activists on this issue does not make any sense to health officials whose duty of care is the “public good” of the wider population. Croom claims that MSM are stigmatised by Red Cross due to their refusal to accept MSM blood and he asserts this is an typical example of institutional “homophobia”. This fallacious and defamatory accusation has been utterly repudiated by Red Cross and investigations carried out on the Blood Donor programme in Australia.

In the US and Canada no MSM can donate blood if they engaged in anal or oral sex since 1977 or engaged in sex for money or drugs. In much of Europe there is an effective total ban. In Korea and Japan no MSM individual can donate blood.

Public safety must at all times be put ahead of the politicisation of health issues by a “gay” ‘rights’ minority which is always accusing those they disagree with as “homphobes” and “homophobic bigots”.

Notes: 

1. A New Zealand survey of “gay” men revealed: Only 23% of the 1,200 men surveyed had managed to remain monogamous over the previous six months. Two thirds of the men reported multiple partners over that time. Many of them – more than a quarter – not only had multiple regular sex partners, they also had multiple casual sex partners as well. Nearly ten percent of those surveyed reported having between 20 and 50 sexual partners in the previous six months. A further 24% had between six and 20 partners in just six months. This was not a survey about how many times these men were having sex, it was a survey to find out how many different men they were having sex with.

A 2008 version of the same study notes that actual rates of “concurrent sexual partners” will be “higher than those reported here” because of methodology issues with the survey.

See: http://www.investigatemagazine.co.nz/Investigate/?p=3328

2. The AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) infection is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is spread when blood, semen, or vaginal fluids from an infected person enter another person’s body, usually through sexual contact, from sharing needles when injecting drugs, or from mother to baby during birth. HIV is rarely spread by blood transfusions or organ transplants because of improved screening procedures.

References:

http://www.altmedia.net.au/donation-appeal-ignites-gay-blood-debate/56587

http://www.transfusion.com.au/sites/default/files/Blood%20Review%20Report.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_male_blood_donor_controversy