The makers of Shortland Street say allegations that their programme is part of Helen Clark's alleged homosexual social engineering agenda have no basis in fact. Radio Pacific host Ian Wishart said last week on his show that Shortland Street was a taxpayer-funded programme that used a gay storyline "carefully crafted" to make homosexuality appear normal and acceptable, and this was a result of Helen Clark being in control of television. Shortland Street publicist Rachel Lorimer, speaking on behalf of South Pacific Pictures managing director John Barnett, says Shortland Street is a self-sufficient programme that receives no taxpayer funding, and that South Pacific Pictures is in total control of the programme's production, which obviously includes decisions on storylines and characters. South Pacific Pictures is a private company, owned jointly by John Barnett's Endeavour Entertainment and a British media firm. “Shortland Street is an urban, medical-based serial drama centred on a cross-section of New Zealanders who care for their patients, the hospital where they work, their families and community,” says Ms Lorimer. “The show's enduring popularity and high ratings reflect the fact that all our stories and characters hold enormous appeal for the New Zealand public.” Wishart included Shortland Street on a list of programmes that he considered gay in the current issue of his Investigate magazine, in which he said Helen Clark was a closet lesbian whose repressed Freudian desires were re-shaping New Zealand society.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 27th November 2003 - 12:00pm