John Banks at the 2010 Big Gay Out A quarter of a century after it was passed, one of the most fervent critics of the Homosexual Law Reform is making a tilt to return to Parliament. Better known these days as the two-time ex Mayor of Auckland, John Banks has nestled in with the ACT Party under its new leader Don Brash. Both Brash and Banks are ex National Party representatives. Banks, now 64, formerly spent 18 years in Parliament and 38 years as a National Party member. He has today put his name forward to be ACT's candidate for the Epsom electorate in this year's general election, saying he will not renew his National Party membership because neither party allows dual membership. ''It has been a long time since I have been in a process like this,'' he told Stuff. ''It is very exciting. It started for me a long time ago. I've gone from sleeping rough in the Auckland Domain to Parliament house, to the town hall and back to the town hall and hopefully back to Parliament house within three decades.'' With nominations closing on Tuesday, no other nominees have stepped forward to take over the electorate currently held by toppled ACT Leader Rodney Hide, who is stepping down at the election in November following the Brash coup. Though he campaigned for Auckland Mayor attempting to court the votes of queer Aucklanders by downplaying his past homophobic comments, Banks has a long history of anti-gay pronouncements. Those who successfully fought for Homosexual Law Reform will recall Banks calling it "evil" as it reached the final reading in 1986. He said, "This day will be remembered as a sad and sickening day for New Zealand. A very black cloud tonight and those members who wheel themselves through the doors of the Ayes lobby to vote for legalised sodomy at the age of 16 should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves." In the June 1993 parliamentary debates on outlawing discrimination against gays and lesbians (and others) on the basis of sexuality he said: "The problem with this homosexual business we've now made legal in his country," said Banks, "is that so many of these creeps have now boldly crept out of the wardrobe and parliament is soon going to legislate... to allow sexual deviants or people with sexual alternatives to work... with immunity." His venom continued during his career as a talkback host, where he once called gay people "homos" and described men on a NZ AIDS Foundation Safe Sex poster as "deadbeat losers". In 2007 Banks emerged as a softer Mayoral candidate, toning down his hardline right wing politics and successfully winning the chains. In the 2010 super city election campaign he appeared to smooth his tougher edges even further, under the guidance of media consultant Bill Ralston, who accompanied him to the Big Gay Out last year and was overheard by media telling him to get a photograph with some children. What do you think? Has John Banks changed his spots? Discuss this gay New Zealand news story on the GayNZ.com Forum
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 18th May 2011 - 4:29pm