East Coast Bays National MP Murray McCully has been personally upset by a TV ad featuring two young men kissing, and says the government is using taxpayer money to “promote homosexuality”. The MP's comments, made in his weblog, refer to the Ministry of Health's Hubba Hubba campaign which urges youth to use condoms when having sex. One of the TV spots for the campaign features two young men kissing. Another more frequently seen spot in the campaign features a heterosexual couple. Referring to the government as “The Sisterhood”, McCully – who describes himself and his colleagues as “rampantly heterosexual” – says the ad is endorsing homosexuality “as one of the lifestyle options to be carefully considered by young people. Above all else, the ad will simply cause offence to many people.” McCully goes on to say that the government could have delivered a health message without “graphic depictions of sexual encounters of any kind. And they certainly did not need to spend taxpayers' cash rarking up the very un-gay folks at the worldwide headquarters [McCully's office]”. Prime Minister Helen Clark has labelled McCully's comments “bizarre”. “What I know from my time as Minister of Health, is that you have to have messages about sexual health and safety which are capable of reaching all groups in the community,” she told GayNZ.com. “If you don't, some end up marginalised and more exposed to disease than others. So it's very important to have campaigns which can reach across the spectrum.” McCully did not return GayNZ.com's phone calls to his electorate office. We intended to ask the MP to explain how it is possible to promote homosexuality, and what exactly he finds so offensive about two men kissing.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 15th February 2005 - 12:00pm