Bruce Kilmister Although HIV positive people's organisation Body Positive has yet to be approached about an Auckland 'Pride Centre' proposal it is keen to look into the idea. Rainbow Youth and Outline are both working towards a proposal which would see them coming together in one premises with hoped-for savings for both cash-strapped organisations. Rainbow Youth manager Duncan Matthews, who most recently floated the idea, said he hoped Outline, Body Positive and the NZAF might all eventually share premises. The NZAF is the only one of the four organisations to own its own building. Body Positive's general manager Bruce Kilmister says there has been "no approach with a specific concept or idea, but he is "keen to have a discussion." Some years ago, when he was an elected member of an inner-city Auckland council ward, Kilmister floated the idea of combined premises, and foresaw the council providing low cost accommodation as he says it does for other community groups such as sports clubs. "The council provides a whole range of venues for sporting and other diverse community groups but nothing for the glbti communities," he said today, adding that many other cities world-wide with significant glbi populations support those communities with premises. Kilmister even has a site in mind. "254 Ponsonby Road, currently the Nosh supermarket site was purchased some years ago for a town centre," he notes. "It would be very suitable, but the council has other buildings which would probably be ok too."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 23rd September 2013 - 6:21pm