Craig Bonnington from ANZ's Pride Network says the attack has particularly upset trans staff Much of the pink paint thrown at the ANZ Ponsonby bank branch has been cleaned up this morning, while work continues at the Ponsonby Police Station, which was also hit by queer activists. Footprints in pink paint stretch from the bank, across the road and to the Pompallier Centre carpark - a police photographer has been paying close attention to them. Footprints cross Pompalier Terrace ATMs in Mt Eden and Avondale were also hit with pink paint overnight. Most of the paint has been removed from the glass at the front of the Ponsonby Rd branch this morning. Craig Bonnington from the ANZ Pride Network has been at the scene and says staff are disappointed and taking it hard, “especially transgender staff members.” “But we understand it’s a minority group doing this.” He says ANZ is supporting staff well. Bonnington says the attacks are vandalism and a criminal act, and are counterproductive. Work continues at the Ponsonby Police Station, which has been doused with three splashes of paint. “At least it’s a fabulous pink!” a bystander remarked outside the station this morning. The Ponsonby Police Station The anonymous group Queers Against Injustice, which says it threw paint over ANZ’s Ponsonby Rd GAYTM last week, is claiming responsibility for the fresh paint attack. It says it’s continuing to “draw attention to the acts of ‘pinkwashing’ that these institutions we have targeted are complicit in.” There are three GAYTMs, two in Auckland and one in Wellington, which were installed to mark Pride events in the two cities. Proceeds from non-ANZ card fees are being donated to OUTLine. The organisation's General Manager Trevor Easton tells GayNZ.com Daily News "it’s a shame when our own community attack an organisation that is publicly standing up and showing its support of the rainbow community". Comments on GayNZ’s Facebook page about the latest vandalism this morning have been overwhelmingly angry, such as “Get a grip people!!! Your vandalising public property is not going to make any one in the community think good things about our rainbow family!!” and “For goodness sake! All this does is detract from any issue they're genuinely concerned about. And on top of that, a positive outcome is impossible because the wider community will simply put up their walls in outrage.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 24th February 2015 - 10:26am