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Australian News and Features


SOURCE: The Age newspaper. Melbourne, Australia.
13th February, 1999.

Rationing of condoms sparks AIDS fear.

Needle-exchange services attack the Government's rationing decision.
By SANDRA McKAY
STATE POLITICAL REPORTER.

Condoms are being rationed among drug users and sex workers because of
[Victorian] State Government cutbacks, with health workers fearing this
will lead to a surge in sexually transmitted diseases.

Condoms should be hidden under the counter, provided only on request to
clients of "heightened risk of HIV/STD transmission" and then limited to
three per client, according to a Human Services memo sent to needle-exchange
centres last month.

Health centres have been told that a small "one-off" purchase of condoms
will have to last until 30 June. The Government once provided unlimited
free condoms as a preventative disease-control measure, but two years ago
introduced the first limit of 20 per client.

Needle-exchange co-ordinators have now been advised to refer sex workers
to the Prostitutes Collective for free condoms, and to charge 20 cents per
condom if people needed more than three.

Melbourne's main needle-exchange programs and the Prostitutes
Collective have written to the [State] Health Minister, Mr Rob Knowles,
seeking an urgent meeting to try to reverse the decision.
Mr Knowles said he would consider their submission but the decision had
been made to put more resources into the "core" issue of stopping the
spread of Hepatitis C.

A Human Services spokesman, Mr Graeme Walker, said Hepatitis C had
supplanted AIDS as the major public health risk.
There had been a 30 per cent growth in demand last year on the
needle-exchange program, and similar pressure for free condoms, which
was not the program's "core business".

Free condom distribution had grown from two million in 1995 to three
million in 1997, and now needed to be controlled, Mr Walker said, so
money could be directed to clean needles.                        

Mr Simon Kroes, who runs the Salvation Army's crisis centre in St Kilda,
one of the state's largest needle-exchange programs, said the department's
complacent attitude towards AIDS was scary.
In Canada, after free condoms were cut among injecting drug users HIV
infection grew from 3 per cent 26 per cent, he said.

"I just don't understand this attitude when condoms are the cheapest and
most effective way of reducing the transmission of HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases."
Labor's health spokesman, John Thwaites, said the three condom rule was
unrealistic and dangerous.
"This cut is not on ... To save 20 cents on a condom now, they are risking
people's lives and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in health care
bills."     
Ms Robbi Chaplin, the program manager for the Inner South Community
Health Service which provides a seven-night a week mobile needle
exchange and distributes up to 500 condoms a week, said free condoms
were integral to the safe-sex message.


ENDS.
SOURCE: The New Zealand Herald newspaper. Auckland New Zealand.
15th February, 1999.

http://www.7am.com/nzwires/
http://www.herald.co.nz/nzheraldnew/story.cfm?theStoryID=2694

Parade still fun despite less flesh 
By Louisa Cleave.

Less flesh, no whipping, slick commercially sponsored floats and a lack of
controversy were features of this year's Hero Parade. 

A more mature – some might say tamer – parade was presented along Ponsonby
Rd on Saturday night, drawing its biggest crowd yet, put by some at up to
double last year's 100,000. 

Exposed body parts and the bondage scenes of the previous five parades were
replaced with humour and a party atmosphere. 

An entrant described as "flame, flaunt and flesh" withdrew from the parade,
but organisers said they did not have control over the style of floats. 

"People could have put more gay floats together if they wanted," said the
Hero project director, Steve Berry-Smith. "It's an entirely individual
decision." 

The parade emphasis this year seemed to be on dancing and music, he said.
"There definitely wasn't any controversy in there this year. It's probably
something that comes and goes. 

"I suppose if there was something to get controversial about it would show
through in the parade that year. 

"Perhaps we're a happy nation this year." 

Spectator Justin Clow, 24, described the parade as "certainly more soft core. 

"I think there were more breasts than ever before, although a lot of [the
women] were wearing body paint." 

He said the bondage and discipline float was not missed. "I don't think
that's right because I don't think B and D is a particularly gay thing." 

Slicker organisation showed in the free-moving parade, which some spectators
said was over too soon. 

Just under 60 floats took about 90 minutes to wind down the road. 

Among crowd favourites were the marching boys and girls, Marilyn Monroe and
Elvis impersonators and the Topp Twins, appearing as their Ken and Ken
characters. 

Supporting gay community-driven floats such as the Aids Foundation, Herne
Bay House, Auckland Sexual Health Services and the Hero Remembrance Float
was a mardi-gras inspired Qantas float, with its flamboyant South American
costumes, and Opera New Zealand, promoting its upcoming season of La Boheme. 

First time parade-goers Nickie and Jason Lewis of Helensville and friend
Emma Hilton of the North Shore were impressed with the display of
self-expression. 

"I think it's great. We saw children and families and they were involved in
it, not sheltered from it," Emma Hilton said. 

"I made a conscious effort to come and show my support." 


SOURCE: TVNZ News.
Sun Feb 14 06:57 1999 

Hero Parade: Biggest ever crowd

Organisers of last night's gay and lesbian Hero Parade in Auckland say it
attracted the biggest-ever spectator crowd in its nine year history.

They say about 200,000 people flocked to the event. 

More than 50 floats moved down Ponsonby Road, featuring everything from a
chorus of male Marilyn Monroe lookalikes to gay garden displays. 

The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, opened the parade, urging people to
celebrate diversity.

Labour leader Helen Clark was also there.

Earlier there had been fears the event might not go ahead because of a lack
of funding.

But the parade attracted corporate sponsors as well as  NZ$15,000 from the
city council.