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Hello, my name is Tony Reed. Welcome to GAYA radio program for L-G-B-T-I people and their friends on Coast Access Radio 1 0 4 0.7 FM Radio Southland, 96.4 fm. Access Radio, TARANAKI 1 0 4 0.4 FM and Plains fm. Christchurch 96.9 FM. On Also now available on iTunes podcast. Today I am, uh, uh, [00:01:00] doing a, uh, doing a repeat of items from the PRIDE nz. Archives. So I'm talking to its editor or whatever your, uh, Gareth Watkins and his husband Roger Smith who, uh, who have come all the way up to w and I to play some of the more, uh, some of the more recent recordings. So welcome. Oh, Kiana, thanks for having us. Uh, so I will hand it over to you to start the, to start the recording. Well, to start stuff. [00:01:30] I was, I was trying to think when the last time we visited. Um, several years. It would've been several years ago. Yeah. And last year was quite significant for Pride NZ because it was the 10th anniversary of it being online. Okay. Um, and now there's over 800 items. So that is, um, that's amazing. It's been an amazing 10 years. Um, and the, the thing we did at the end of last year, 2019, was we, uh, took those 800 items and used artificial intelligence to do transcriptions of, of all that [00:02:00] audio. So it'll make it a lot easier to find online. Um, I have to say the artificial intelligence isn't particularly, particularly, um, kind to the New Zealand accent. And so it, it gives broad brush strokes in terms of what the content is. Yes. Um, but I think actually, um, in years to come, it will be invaluable in terms of just really unlocking some of those audio treasures. But one of the first things, um, that, that I brought today was, uh, we were fortunate to [00:02:30] record at the, um, pride Parade at, uh, last year in October. And it's been going for a number of years. Um, and it's the world unofficial shortest pride parade, and it is the most, um, wonderful thing. It, it has such a wonderful community feel. Yes, I went last year and there's families and, and all sort. Some there as well as it, it, it really brings the community together. Um, and, uh, yeah, was, was very happy to be [00:03:00] recording that. Um, there was a little objection last year, I think one of the locals, um, objected to the Rainbow Crossing and, and the council were meant to remove it. Um, but they didn't remove it until after the Pride Parade, so, so that one's lucky. Um, but the PRI Pride parade itself is actually just that pedestrian crossing going Yes. Um, over onto the, um, into the hall. So was able to do a bit of recording there. Um, the recording I've brought is actually just, um, two, uh, participants of [00:03:30] of the Pride Parade. Um, and they give two different views of of, of why they're there. So we're about to take off on the third unofficial, smallest pride parade. Uh, this is the third one, and I've been to the other two Last year. I was the first dike on a bike. And, uh, it was pretty cool. But this year my feet are too sore to, to manage that. So I'm here and I'm gonna try and walk it. Uh, I'm a [00:04:00] disabled dyke. I don't get out very much. I have multiple sclerosis. Um, I've recently this year been quite crippled with arthritis on top of that. And I have, uh, PTSD, which makes me highly anxious. And it's difficult to be out and about, so I don't get out and about like I used to when I was in my twenties. I'm in my fifties now and this is my annual event. This is where I come and, um, I see people I don't see all year apart from on Facebook or Twitter and I get my annual hugs, [00:04:30] lots of them. And um, get to have a quick chat. Chat and then I get to go home in the safety of my own home, put my feet up and relax knowing that, um, I'm still part of something. That's very cool. We are in on the, uh, parade and we are about to take part in the world's unofficial shortest pride parade. Wow. Is this the, uh, first time you've been in a parade? Yes. It ha uh, yes, it is a bit nervous, but, um, yeah, I'm [00:05:00] excited. And so, um, who are you here today with? Uh, I'm here with, um, my group from KYS. Uh, we're a little after school group that meets every Wednesdays, um, and we just, you know, get together and hang out and, um, we just support each other. And so why are those kind of groups important? It's really, really important because it gives you the opportunity to actually come out of your shell, you know, not have to hide anything. Um, and it's great [00:05:30] 'cause once you start talking about it, and once you, um, you know, you can start to understand everything and it's helped me a lot, you know, understand who I am and who I want to be. Why do you think, uh, pride parades? Pride events are important? Because it's. A celebration of the community that we have. And, um, it's, you know, it's showing that we are here and, um, you know, we're part of the community and, um, we're a really strong family together. [00:06:00] And, um, when we're all together, you know, we can accomplish great things. So that was, uh, an unidentified member of, uh, the project youth, the company youth support. And, uh, before that was, uh, Anne-Marie staff. Uh, one of the really, um, lovely things about recording at Pride Events is that everyone comes to it with, um, different expectations and the participating for. For different reasons. Um, so that was really inclusive. [00:06:30] I, I felt a really inclusive, uh, pride event, uh, this year, uh, or last year. Um, but there have been some, um, other pride parades and pride events that have been really fraught in 2019. Um, particularly in Auckland. Uh, there was a real. What, uh, from looking on from Wellington seemed a real implosion within the communities there, and it really divided a lot of people, um, concerns around about police and corrections, marching in uniform, um, corporate involvement, um, standing in [00:07:00] solidarity with, um, marginalized parts of our communities. And so the actual, um, pride Parade as it was, um, was turned into a new walking march called our March. Um, one of the people that marched in both, uh, our March in Auckland and also the International Pride Parade in Wellington, uh, was Jan Logie, and I was able to interview her at the Wellington, uh, pride Parade. The greens. Um, we marched in the [00:07:30] Auckland Pride, uh, March. And I've gotta say, despite the tensions and the sadness I have around the, um, community dividing and imploding, it was beautiful. It was, from my experience, it really felt like a difference of walking and being observed by others. Um, to being in a massive community, taking over. And I, I found it incredibly [00:08:00] special and I think there was a lot of complexity in that, um, the tensions and the debate. And I really hope that we can bring the best of it all together. And, and I know that's gonna be hard conversations. So Wellington's Pride Parade was, uh, meant to take place on the 16th of March, 2019, but the day before we had the horrendous, um, Christchurch terror attacks, which happened on the [00:08:30] Friday. Um, and it was just, um, horrendous where. Um, you know, over 50 people were, were massacred in Christchurch. Um, that really threw out a whole lot of activities around the country. We didn't know, you know, if, if there were gonna be more attacks or anything like that. Um, so things like out in the park, which was due for Saturday, was canceled. Um, and the parade was actually postponed. They, they weren't quite sure what was gonna happen, but they postponed it. [00:09:00] One of the things that did happen on the Sunday, uh, so this is two days after the attack was, uh, there had already been, um, a church service, uh, lined up for Pride at St. Andrew's on the terrace. And that was, uh, led by Reverend Dr. Susan Jones. And, uh, during her reflection, uh, she reflected not only on pride, but also on, on the Christchurch, uh, mosque attacks. After Friday, we all are thinking new thoughts. [00:09:30] We are all looking at ourselves and our country in a new way. So may we see what it is that we can learn even from a tragedy such as we have experienced. So it may be amen. So where do you start? Where do you than to unravel the events of Christchurch 15th of March, 2019? [00:10:00] At first, I thought changing the reflection today left out the very group whose festival is right now, the rainbow community with its variety of sexual orientations and gender identities. And then I thought again, because what happened in Christchurch is just another facet of the difficulty we all have as human beings relating to and embracing those who are other to [00:10:30] us. It is significant. I think that three particular closures I heard of requested by police in the past two or three days affect groups that suffer the same circumstance in some way. They are different from the majority or the perceived norm. Obviously, mosques were requested to suspend their services. The Muslim community, though not inconsiderable in numbers as a minority in this country.[00:11:00] And on Saturday, so too was the Jewish synagogue asked not to meet another religious minority. And also the pride parade and the fair out in the park were canceled. So the Muslim, the Jewish, and the rainbow communities are all minorities within Western society. And that difference, that minority status makes the rest of that society edgy. And it's [00:11:30] tragically obvious that it makes a group of white supremacists and this weekend, one man in particular so edgy that they see the need to resort to deadly force. And it's a sad irony that we might feel more comfortable worshiping here today than at the mosque or the synagogue because the perpetrator on Friday was, as much as we might hate to say it, one of us. And that was the, uh, Reverend Dr. Susan Jones, uh, speaking. [00:12:00] Just two days after the, um, Christchurch Mosque terror attacks, well, uh, directly after those attacks, flags were lowered, uh, around the country. Uh, and this actually included the lowering of four flags on the fore court of parliament. And those flags were very special for rainbow communities. They were the intersex flag, the transgender flag, the bisexual flag, and the rainbow flag. And they were originally being flown there to mark, uh, the Ilga World Conference, which was [00:12:30] taking place in Wellington that week. Um, and Ilga is the International Lesbian, gay and Bisexual, trans and Intersex Association. And it was for the first time in New Zealand, uh, the World Conference. Um, so it was a really significant event and there were hundreds of delegates from around the world. Well, the, um, the four flags that were flown at Parliament, um, they were originally flown at Parliament for the very first time in 2018, uh, to Mark Ida Hobbit Day. And Ida Hobbit is the [00:13:00] international day against homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and intersex phobia. And it's believed to be the first time anywhere in the world where those four flags have actually flown, uh, together. In front of the, uh, seat of government, which is, um, really significant. Um, and both Roger and I, I were actually, uh, there at the, the first flag raising in 2018 of those four flags, and it was quite, quite, um, special. Um, also there was, uh, activist Bella Simpson and [00:13:30] uh, MP Louisa Wall. So this morning we're at Parliament, um, and we're here for International Day against homophobia, biphobia Transphobia and intersex phobia. It's a very special day today. Uh, for a couple of years now we've been able to fly the rainbow flag, but today to also fly our trans flag, our bi flag, our intersex flag, which really does encompass all of our rainbow communities, I think is something that we, as New Zealand should be incredibly proud of. So I do want to take the opportunity to thank, miss. To [00:14:00] speaker, uh, because in fact he is the one who's made this possible. So, so where did this come from? What's the history of the flags flying at Parliament? Uh, so the history of the flags flying at Parliament really started, uh, with the 30th anniversary of homosexual law reform. Uh, that was the first ever time the rainbow flag had been flown. Uh, last year, our cross party rainbow group. Asked Mr. Speaker if we could fly the rainbow flag on Ida Haber Day. Uh, and he consented. And this year we've expanded it, as I said, to four Flags. [00:14:30] Uh, one of the ongoing questions is about indigenous representation. Um, and that will happen. I don't think, uh, there is a generic indigenous. Rainbow flag across the world. So we would have to look at what that flag is for, for us here in New Zealand. And to be honest, I think it is the Ang flag because Pu are part of whanau, hapu iwi. So if we were to have one, that would be the flag. If somebody couldn't be here today, uh, would you have any special message for them? Oh, I think my special [00:15:00] message, uh, is really that there are a lot of us. Um, out and proud here to support. Please don't ever feel like you're alone. Uh, actually we are a pretty strong, solid, uh, group of people that, um, are always available to, to talk and support, especially our young ones who are just realizing who they are. I mean, they're incredibly vulnerable, some of them. Um, so know that you are never alone. Yeah. And that your identity is valid. It's real, and it's important. It doesn't matter what anyone else says, that identity is [00:15:30] yours and you can do with it whatever you want, not what others tell you to do. Well, skipping forward back to 2019 and, uh, not only were there. The, um, rainbow and various other flags at Parliament, but there were also rainbow flags everywhere around Central Wellington. It was the most rainbowed I'd seen Wellington ever actually in my lifetime. Um, the, uh, there were flags around the central streets and on the embankment of, uh, Wellington [00:16:00] Airport, it was painted as a huge rainbow. And uh, that was really stunning. I, I mean, I dunno how you, you both felt about, um, all the rainbows, but. Well, well certainly that thing at the airport. Got in, got into the international news quite, uh, quite noticeably. You just get to feel welcome in your own city, which is nice. Yes. Yeah, well part of, um, Wellington's, can I say, uh, rain, rainbow Beautification, um, uh, in part was due to a group [00:16:30] called, uh, stitch and Butch. And, uh, they do a lot of, um, yarn bombing around Wellington. Um, and I I've noticed in, well, certainly in, um, there's also, um, some yarn bombing and that's, um, covering objects or structures in public, uh, with. Decorative, uh, knitting or crocheted material, um, forming, um, types of street art. Um, but I was fortunate to, um, um, spy one of the yarn bombers, um, in lower Cuba Street, and I, uh, sided up [00:17:00] to her and had a little quick conversation. It's called Stitch and Butch as our little group, and we are queer and we meet every week. And just between you and me, the knitting and the stitching is, is a secondary byproduct of what we do because we meet every week, we. Form really trusting friendships slowly as the weeks go by. And if we have a shared goal, that's well and good, but really we meet because we are friends and we've [00:17:30] formed friends by by the stitching. So yes, so sometimes. Um, we come along with bags of pre-prepared items to go on, and sometimes we just come along to someone what other people have, so on, because the point is really the friendship and the camaraderie and the support for each other. So how did this all come about? Well, a couple of years ago there was an earthquake in Wellington, um, two and a half years ago, and we're all a little bit discombobulated by the earthquake, but we decided to do [00:18:00] something for Wellington that would help us as well as brighten up everybody. And so we thought about it for a while and we decided to, um, yarn bomb. The bike stands outside the city library two years ago, and some of them are still there. And I've gotta say the yarn bombing around Wellington just looked amazing. And, and the, they're still particularly on the waterfront, you can, you can see, um, those, those yarn bombing, um, examples. They're great. [00:18:30] Well, another highlight over the last couple of years, uh, was a panel discussion, uh, chaired by Simon Ard at the, um, dos Art Museum in La Hu in 2018. It was called Art Craft and the AIDS Crisis and featured Richard Binge now, um, Richard, uh, in the late eighties and nineties had a really big involvement with. The, um, New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt. He, he worked with the, um, at the, A center at the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. Um, but Richard Rid [00:19:00] hasn't spoken publicly a lot, um, about that time. But, um, on this occasion, at this panel discussion at the das, um, he, he, he talked quite openly. We didn't know who was gonna die next. We didn't know who was sick next. There was a very strong sense of urgency. Emergency guilt, shame, fear, shock loss, [00:19:30] and grief. And what happens internationally is that when terrible things happen to people, like when tragedy happens in communities, people get together. When there's no cure, when there's no answers and there's nothing else to do, you hold onto one another and it creates [00:20:00] groupings and holdings and doings. And so when the first quilt was made, which Kevin referred to, was an expression of loss. And grief, but above all the need to remember that his lover ever lived, because if his body's been taken away [00:20:30] and cremated within minutes, you have to have something to hold onto. And that was, uh, Richard binge at, uh, uh, a panel discussion. Um, one of the other things in 2018, uh, that Roger and I did together was we led a walk tour, um, to see the New Zealand AIDS memorial quilt at, to Papa. And this was, uh, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first, uh, quilt panels [00:21:00] in the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt. And it was really, it was really special, I think. And, um. We got a lot out of it and, and certainly the other participants did as well. Um, yeah, jumping forward to, uh, 2020, gosh, that's hard to say, isn't it? It's like, oh, hello, new decade. Um, one of the things at the start of this year was that former MP Marathon wearing became a dame, uh, which is, um, really significant. Um, and Tony, I see that you've [00:21:30] brought in, um, her, her latest book. Yes, it's called, it, was it, it it was published last year and I went to the sort of launch at the National Library, so I have a signed copy. She was, uh, actually one of the very first people I met in, in New Zealand. Uh, because, uh, because, um, uh, my, uh, my friend I was visiting the librarian called Dorothy Free, was a friend of hers. And sort of gave me all Marilyn Waring's details and I went and visited her and chatted and it was all very [00:22:00] nice 'cause I had no idea about who she was, anything about Maldoon. And I was about the, the only visitor she had who didn't go on about Maldoon and she rather liked. It's, but it's called Marilyn wearing the political Years, and I just love that, that that co that the photograph on the front cover, which shows the, um, what the National Caucus from, was it 1978, I think? Yes. Or around that time. And she's the only female in the lineup of about what, 30 people? Yes. Well, um, I interviewed, uh, Marilyn in [00:22:30] 2012, um, and at one point I asked her about being, um, publicly outed by the New Zealand Truth Magazine in 1976. After those articles and truth, how did you, I guess, present yourself in terms of, I mean, did you kind of come out and present yourself as, yes, I am a lesbian, or did you just say, well. It's none of your business. Yeah, pretty much. Look, you know, anybody who, who [00:23:00] sees me in public, anybody who knows me, everybody knows, you know, I don't make a secret of it, but I'm not here to feel truths and come, um, I'll just, you know, as I've always has, I'll just go on, get on with my life. Um, but, uh, it made a huge difference for the gay community. You know, so many people over so many years have come up and said, you've got no idea. You know, we were sitting at the table and mum was saying, it's outrageous. How dare they? And dad was saying, it's [00:23:30] nobody's business. And I finally had the opportunity to say, well, I'm glad you think that. 'cause I am, you know, huge numbers of, um, people. Yeah. I think I became a, you know, someone safe. For gay people to talk to, whatever it was about really, if it was some, um, tension with some government department that may or may not relate to [00:24:00] their being gay. Another thing that happened was that over the years for me, I always said lots of information fell off the back of a truck. Well, there were always gay people right through the bureaucracy, and if I wanted something, I always got it, even if it wasn't through the orthodox ways. And so that was, uh, uh, Marilyn wearing Dame Marilyn wearing, uh, from 2012. So, [00:24:30] um, a huge congratulations to her for her, uh, Dame Hood. Thanks. Yeah. Uh, the last, uh, audio clips that I, I brought today, uh, come from the reopening of. The Rainbow Room in Parliament. Um, so the Rainbow Room in Parliament, uh, was established 2008. Um, and it was there to, is there to acknowledge and pay respect to our rainbow communities in 2019. It was refurbished and, and so they've got on the wall. Portraits of, um, current and [00:25:00] former mps who are, um, openly, who openly identify as, as, um, part of the rainbow community. Um, but also significant pieces of legislation. So things like the, uh, homosexual law reform and marriage equality and things like that. Um, plus quite a variety of. Flags from our different communities within the kind of rainbow, um, communities. Um, so it's a really lovely room. Um, the event to launch it also was an event to launch, um, Andrew Reynolds book called The [00:25:30] Children of Harvey Milk, uh, which contained, uh, contains a number of of New Zealand, uh, members of parliament. And so the last two bits of audio I've just put together, uh, the, the first one is, um, activist Sarah McBride from the US talking at this launch event at Parliament, uh, followed by author Andrew Reynolds. It is incredibly fitting that this new and improved rainbow room will be dedicated near the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York City.[00:26:00] Because one of the many, many legacies of Stonewall is the power of an individual act to reverberate around the world. And at a time when L-G-B-T-Q people find themselves under attack. In far too many corners of this globe, including in my home country of the United States, the actions and the work here in the New Zealand parliament have never been more important, because for the last several decades, you all have been at the forefront. Of the [00:26:30] movement for the rights and dignity of L-G-B-T-Q people around the world. From marriage equality to the globally historic election of Georgina Byer, you all have not just made change for people here in New Zealand. You have set the bar and challenged the world to live up to our highest ideals and to be our best selves outside of these boundaries outside of this coast land. There isn't a person I know who is not trans or is not [00:27:00] gender non-conforming, or, uh, intersex who doesn't look to Georgina Bayer as the iconic Gandhi of the movement. Being the first in the world, again is a remarkable achievement. And her courage, her tenacity, her authenticity transforms hearts and minds. I don't wanna be melodramatic, but we know that queer kids around the world, in places that are less [00:27:30] affirming than in New Zealand struggle every day with anxiety, with depression, with suicidal thoughts. But we know that when they see somebody in legitimate positions of power around them, they are reassured, they feel validated, they feel worthy, they feel they can aspire to something. In the future. So every queer out elected politician in the newspaper, on television is life affirming [00:28:00] and to many millions of kids. That is life changing, and in many cases, that is life saving because you see yourself as an authentic, real, legitimate person, member of humanity, and you see a pathway out of the difficulty. And that's, uh, Andrew Reynolds speaking at the launch of the Rainbow Room, uh, refurbishment in, uh, parliament in, in 2019. Just thinking about [00:28:30] what Andrew was saying, you know, in terms of life being, life-affirming and being visible, um, you know, to me that's what I. Pride nz and all these audio recordings are about that actually is the visibility. And then to have the opportunity of coming on onto this, um, show and then this show going across, um, the country and being heard, heard in all manner of places is really amazing. So thank you so much for, for that opportunity. Um, Tony, it's, it's really appreciated. Um, and I guess that's the other thing that we do. Uh, we, [00:29:00] we, we do walk tours in Wellington, uh, rainbow Walk tours, and I guess it's all about visibility as well. Yes. Yes indeed. I've thought of coming on those and something's always happened to, to, to, to stop me. Where would people learn about them? From the website? Yes. From the, the Pride NZ website. Yes. Uh, pride NZ website or Walk Tours nz. Um, and they've been running since about 2017, and you're more than welcome, Tony, anytime you like. Yes. Just a matter of making the effort. The first Sunday of every [00:29:30] month. Yes. We have a tour. Right? Yeah. Well, thank you both very much for coming. I realize it was a not the most convenient time, but, um, but, uh, but, but thank you very much for coming up to w and i and, um, and reading this. And I, and I hope we'll make this a slightly more regular event than we have, than we have in the past. You can hear this program again next Tuesday at 9:00 PM or Thursday at 5:00 PM It is also available on our website at www do coast access radio.org [00:30:00] nz, or just Google Coast Access Radio. This is Tony Reed for JY on Coast Access Radio 1 0 4 0.7 fm. This program was made with assistance from New Zealand on air for radio broadcast and access internet radio. Thanks New Zealand on air.
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