Former Auckland mayor John Banks desperately tried to put his homo-hating past behind him during last year's local body election campaign, in which he failed to retain the Auckland mayoralty. Attending a mayoral debate hosted by the Gay Auckland Business Association, Banks cheerfully made claims of being the largest employer of gay men ever, and told gay media that many gay men were supporting his campaign. He refused to discuss his long history of anti-gay statements both as an MP and a talk radio host, saying they were made twenty years ago and no longer relevant. Of course, as with so many other Bankstatements, the facts are a little loose. It was less than even ten years ago that a caller to his Radio Pacific programme said “sodomites” should have barbed wire shoved up their rectums, and Banks finished the call saying it would be a waste of barbed wire. That one went to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. In July, Banks engaged in an extended rant about “filthy” and “pervert” homosexuals on his Radio Pacific programme that went on for nearly an hour. Banks also invoked the Koran to suggest that sexual acts between men should be punishable by death. On September 26, Banks was at it again, this time suggesting any form of affection between two males was “filthy”, with a fixation on male/male kissing on television that bordered on obsessive. And this week? Well, see below. It seems there is no end in sight... With Banks not ruling out contesting the Auckland mayoralty again in two years' time, GayNZ.com is proud to continue presenting transcripts of these Bankstatements, for you to file and keep and read aloud should Banks have the cheek to ever show his face at a GABA forum or any gay event again... Radio Pacific October 4 2005, 8:46am BANKS: For all of those people, those people over your back fence, those people at the bridge club this morning, the golf club, down the road at the, at the happiness club, and all those magnificent places that you're going to go this morning, where oldies go and have a good time, for anyone that says, I vote Labour because I've always voted Labour, I want you to reflect this. This is a Kawarau Gazette, Volume 7, the 12th of July 1974, and at that time in New Zealand's history there was a very fine New Zealander that was Prime Minister. Most of you won't remember, quite a few of you won't be old enough and most of you don't care, but he wasn't a bad bloke apart from his pre-occupation of packing a gun to Parliament and shooting pigeons. He had a very nice wife, this Prime Minister, and his son was a good guy. He left the Labour Party, and he was a particularly good bloke. He was the classic Labour man, he'd been to jail and ended up in jail, the son of a Prime Minister, but just digressing. I don't want to raise all these things because most of you have forgotten about it, it's a prerequisite for some quarters of the Labour Party, you know, it's a badge of honour, going to jail, just, just digressing. Anyway, in the Kawarau Gazette on the 12th of July 1974 this is what it said. Mr Kirk said yesterday, listen to this: Mr Kirk said yesterday that he would not vote for any bill which treated homosexuality as normal behaviour and furthermore, that he did not feel that any bill, such a bill introduced before the house would be turned down flat by, in its introductory debate by his Labour Party colleagues. There would be few who did not agree with the Prime Minister. He said, speaking of himself, recent television coverage given to both men and women homosexuals allowed them to put their point to no small degree, said Mr Norman Kirk. The most charitable assessment of their argument for this type of sexual freedom would be that they were far from convincing, said the Prime Minister. There is indeed some evidence to show that some unfortunates are born into this troubled world with homosexual tendencies and these people are to be both pitied and, wherever possible, assisted by appropriate and recognised forms of drug treatment, said Mr Kirk. There is also a great deal of evidence to show that homosexuality is a particularly abhorrent form of satisfaction of gross sexual appetite which, if legalised, would fast become a particularly loathsome and cancerous growth on our already tottering social structure, said the Prime Minster, Norman Kirk. And you say you vote Labour because your dad voted Labour? Well let me tell you that politics fortunately is not genetic and if Norman Kirk was alive today, he certainly wouldn't vote Labour. GayNZ.com - 6th October 2005