Original subtitles

AIDS. Is it something we should be concerned about?

The Center for Disease Control in the US is keeping us updated.

There's more and more people come down with AIDS.

Believe it? I don't know. It's pretty scary.

Oh, it sounds like a beat-up.

I heard it's only happening to guys that sleep around a lot.

I don't know.

By the time reports from the US get here, there's a new theory.

Promiscuity, drugs,

immune overload from constant bouts of STIs, take your pick.

Which one is it?

Could be one of them, it could be all of them.

There are men in America who have walked into clinics,

two weeks later, they're dead.

If our calculations are correct,

then 10% of the men in this room tonight may already be infected.

You could be giving it to each other without even knowing.

Make sure you understand what it means.

It means surveillance and control.

Is the government paying you to say that?

(AUDIENCE CHEERS) (MOUTHS WORDS)

(POP SONG INTRO)

# We can dance if we want to

# We can leave your friends behind

# 'Cause your friends don't dance And if they don't dance

# Well, they're no friends of mine

# Say, we can go where we want to

# A place where they will never find

# And we can act like we come from out of this world

# Leave the real one far behind

# And we can dance or sing

# We can go where we want to

# The night is young and so am I

# And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet

# And surprise 'em with a victory cry

# Say, we can act if we want to

# If we don't, nobody will

# And you can act real rude and totally removed

# And I can act like an imbecile Say

# We can dance, we can dance

# Everybody, look at your hands

# We can dance, we can dance

# Everybody's taking the chance

# Oh, it's the safety dance

# Oh, well, the safety dance

# Oh, yes, the safety dance

# Well, it's a safety dance

# Well, it's a safety dance

# Well, it's a safety dance. # Fuck off, Sister Bertrille.

The meeting at the town hall did confirm at least one thing.

That AIDS is here.

The question is, how widespread is it?

Results are in from the volunteer trial the task force organised.

They tested 500 men. 40% of them were found to be immunosuppressed.

40! My God!

The task force were working on a figure of 10%

and even that seemed high.

Presumably some of these men weren't showing symptoms.

No.

40%.

We have to assume that some of them

may well have had more than one sexual partner.

So the rate of infection could actually be much higher.

Well, if you extrapolate from that,

the entire gay male population of Sydney.

Yes. And the death rate? Rising.

Nothing further from the task force?

Their research is continuing.

Right.

There's something else we need to consider.

There are rumours Hawke's calling an early election.

He's on a 75% approval rating.

There's no way he's going to ignore an advantage like that.

And he's delivered on the promise of Medicare.

The fact we got that up and running is a huge plus.

And a huge minus is there's a highly infectious disease

in certain sectors of the community.

The prime minister is acutely aware of that.

With all due respect, it's madness to call an election right now.

Do you want to tell the prime minister that?

In the United States,

several haemophiliacs have contracted AIDS-related pneumonia.

The suggestion is the infection might be from blood products

and it's incredibly difficult

to trace the source of the infected blood.

Factor VIII, the blood-clotting protein haemophiliacs receive,

is made of plasma gathered from thousands of donations.

Anything else, Mitchell?

Yes. I've been contacted by a doctor in Sydney

who's proposing promiscuous gay men be banned from donating blood.

They've started doing it in the US. Why?

Because they think some people have been infected

through contaminated blood.

Well, at the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, this is not good.

It's disastrous.

Imagine what would happen

if all the blood banks had to destroy their supplies?

Sorry, folks, hold off on having a car accident

or any sort of surgery for a few months until we get this sorted.

If AIDS escapes into the community through infected blood,

it will be impossible to track.

Yes, right, well, until we have further information,

we need to act quickly and conservatively.

How do we police a ban? Can we trust people to self-identify?

Treat people as responsible and that's how they'll behave.

Or not.

People couldn't be trusted

to put on seatbelts without being ordered to.

The request to refrain from donating

has to be extended to all high-risk groups.

We have to remind people that this is not a gay disease.

Of course.

We need to be aware that donations will drop.

Single young men make up a high proportion of donors.

Perhaps we could urge the blood banks

to launch a drive for new low-risk donors at the same time?

Stop people panicking that blood banks will run dry.

Do you think this could scare people off donating?

How do you mean?

Well, if you can get it from receiving blood,

could you get it giving blood?

No, not possible.

Well, that's something.

We need to convene a meeting

with the state health departments as soon as possible.

I'll get onto that.

We have to give them the money and support they need

to improve their blood collection systems, whatever it takes.

Have you ever donated blood? Yes, I have.

What can you tell me about their systems?

Do they use disposable syringes, tubing, that sort of thing?

I have absolutely no idea.

I've never had access to that side of things.

But if they don't, we'll need to look at all of their practices

to determine where the changes need to be made.

Make sure there's uniformity of approach across all the states,

one national strategy.

Stop this next phase before it starts.

(PHONE RINGS AND KEYBOARD CLICKS) (PEOPLE COUGH)

(DOOR OPENS) MAN: Theo, want to come through?

I'm not sure if having an ex test me is easier or harder?

I'm not sure either.

I don't have to give my name, do I?

I'll use the first two letters of your first name

and the first two of your second.

I have to be able to identify the sample as yours, Theo.

(CHUCKLES) Good point.

T-H-K-Y.

Do you want to roll your sleeve up for me?

(TAPS RAPIDLY)

How long before I know?

This test will show if you have a reduced T4 count.

T cells are part of the white blood cells,

which the body uses to fight infection.

A reduced count shows immune deficiency.

It...won't prove that you have AIDS, but...it's all we have at the moment.

I'm glad it's you.

Some in the gay community

have heard whispers of the proposal

to ask promiscuous gay men to stop donating blood.

They asked to speak to the blood bank people.

Wanted a chance to consult on how it might be implemented.

They got no response.

Three days after their request, the ban goes ahead.

Furious gay activists are picketing the head office in Sydney.

They're protesting about the lack of consultation,

but the protest has been misunderstood by some in the media,

stirring up members of the public

who think the gay activists are demanding the right to donate.

That they want to donate their blood out of some sort of spite.

You wanted to see me?

I need to get out of this office for a bit. Been here since 5:00.

Let's walk. (CLEARS THROAT)

Donor numbers are dropping, as expected. Both good news and bad.

Which at least proves tell people the truth,

treat them as responsible citizens and they'll come to the party.

I've been looking into exactly how the blood banks operate.

As far as my research indicates,

there's no comprehensive blood screening done anywhere.

Hep B but not much beyond that. Seriously?

Well, there have been no other bloodborne viruses before now.

That seems extraordinary.

There is another thing to consider.

All blood banks are staffed by volunteers.

They're gonna need to be properly trained and paid.

The entire system needs to be overhauled.

Swings and roundabouts?

(SONG PLAYS FAINTLY ON TV)

# Life can be sweet and sour but I am in control

# One day the wind blows hot and cold

# Everything is sweet and sour but I am in control

# It can chill me to the bo... #

Hey.

You look gorgeous. And you look like crap.

Oh, thank you.

Did you get any sleep at all in the nation's capital?

Now and then.

(SMACKS LIPS) You winning?

I don't wanna talk about it.

Oh, honey. I don't.

I just wanna leave it in Canberra.

You're stressed. I'm dealing with it, OK?

It's...full-on.

That's all I'm gonna say. OK.

But I do have to work this weekend.

You're lucky I'm such a patient man.

Hmm.

Come here.

(YAWNS) Oh, sorry.

You, handsome, are gonna sleep right now.

Oh, no, no, no. it's OK. I'm not that tired.

Mm-hm. You're no good to me like this, baby.

Mmm.

Sleep now and I'll have my way with you later.

Come on.

Hi, sweetheart. WOMAN ON PHONE: Hi, honey.

Am I too late to say goodnight to the kids?

They're asleep. Coming home soon?

No. Still in the office.

Time just sort of got away from me.

(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)

Are you alright?

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

Well, that's something, I suppose.

He was very proud.

Alright, I should go.

I've got a thing to go to.

Oh.

Love you.

Love you too.

'Bye. 'Bye.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)

Your weekend looks like mine. Hmm.

I'm missing a netball final

and prep for an exam on the Tudors and Stuarts.

Football.

And French vocab. Mm.

I appreciate you wanting to have a chat about AIDS,

especially on a weekend.

It's always better to talk

when there's as few people around as possible.

Well, this would be it.

God, this AIDS thing is turning into a bit of a nightmare.

Is that your medical opinion or that of the shadow health minister?

Take your pick.

We want you involved in what we're going to do.

We're not gonna keep anything from you.

We want full multi-party support, a secular cooperative response.

The last thing we need

is to go down the extreme right religious path like the US.

And that place is in all sorts of shit.

And I'm hoping the state governments will come on board too.

There's not much point having one without the other.

There's plenty of good Nationals in the state parliament.

But we all have a problem with Queensland.

Even so, this crisis needs to be seen as above party politics.

Absolutely.

What are you thinking?

Nothing radical.

Prevention, care, treatment, education, research.

(SIGHS) Have I left anything out?

Sounds pretty comprehensive to me.

This thing's probably going to outlive us.

There needs to be irreversible structural change.

Of course.

You don't want it revoked at the first opportunity

should we happen to triumph.

Which we will, whatever the polling suggests.

Go for it.

Mmm. (SIGHS)

(OPENS DRAWER)

Wanna play straights?

You bought condoms?

No, they were giving them out at the club.

Not many people were interested.

But I thought I'd grab a few.

Who's giving them out? I don't know.

There was a bowl of them at the bar.

Oh. Not many takers.

Oh. Delicious bar snack.

The sexiest sex toy I've ever seen.

(LAUGHS)

They should be giving away those black ribbed ones.

What? I've been around.

They're on eye level at the chemist, right next to the lube.

Black. Ribbed. Flavoured.

Flavoured? Yeah. (LAUGHS)

There's a place specifically for people who have just been diagnosed.

They can talk you through what the next steps might be.

Yeah, they'll help you contact any previous sexual partners,

discuss with you what... what you might wanna say to them.

MAN: I'm so sorry. How can I help you?

(PHONE RINGS)

Mmm! Yes!

Where have you been all my life?

(PHONE RINGS) (PEOPLE SPEAK ON PHONE CALLS)

Can someone get that? Hm.

AIDS Information Line.

Some financial assistance is available, yes.

Yeah, have you got a pen?

Ah, so the number is 550-0111.

God loves you too, honey.

Arsehole! Hey.

(PHONE RINGS AGAIN)

Just for a second, please, so I don't yell at anyone?

Deb? Yes.

Any tomatoes? Oh, they went into the...

Oh, OK. Cheese?

You're out of toilet paper. MAN: I'll grab some.

You know what, I'll just buy my lunch.

Wait, wait, wait.

Here.

I'm sorry, it's crazy here.

It's OK. I gotta go.

Ding-dong! Oh, bless you, Sister.

Ciao! Mwah!

Your lovely assistant is ready.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Let's go.

Oh, the loo paper?

(PHONE RINGS)

AIDS Information Line, this is Deb speaking.

Yes.

I'm so sorry.

How can I help?

Yeah.

(MILK HISSES)

Thanks for meeting me on a Saturday.

Just another working day these days.

Are you here for long? Just the weekend.

There's a lot of freaked-out people coming to see me.

That, ah, must be very confronting.

Some of them blame themselves. Why wouldn't they?

They've been told that they're sick all of their lives.

Some of them believe people who tell them that it's what they deserve.

This is gonna sound very clinical and you know it's not meant that way,

but is there anything that links them?

Some of them admit to sleeping with lots of men

but they can't remember or never knew their names.

Others have only been with a handful of partners.

Some use poppers, some don't. Some use drugs, some don't.

There is no definitive profile.

Hospitals are turning them away simply because they don't have room

and they can't get in-home care.

Nurses won't go there.

I hear that, uh, condoms are being handed out at the clubs.

Community's starting to take preventative measures

because we think that this, well, this thing

could be sexually transmitted

but no-one's gonna stop having sex, are they?

Education can take...

..so many forms.

Right this way.

My God, how handsome you all are.

A blessing upon us all.

My name is Sister Mountin' Him. (MEN CHEER)

Ooh, you're quick but I bet all the boys tell you that.

Now, contrary to unpopular opinion,

God has not sent the plague to smite us all.

Yeah, fuck that!

He knows how much we love

to worship the heavenly bodies we find within our orbits.

Ah!

And he's given us so many ways to do that.

It's not all about his...shall we say, his, um, penetrating gaze?

(MEN EXCLAIM)

Now we could do what I do in the convent garden

when I'm rubbing up against the ferns and azaleas.

Then perhaps a little stroking. Ooh.

Maybe a little...kissing.

(MEN SMACK LIPS)

Now, before you stick your manhood in a manhole,

just remember to cloak the bishop.

MEN: Boo! Oh, nah, nah. Boo!

Oh, quicker than a Hail Mary.

Suitable sizes for all gentlemen.

Got any extra, extra, extra large?

Ah, hold on, hold on. This is serious.

OK, God's truth.

Now who wants some?

(MEN MUTTER) Nah.

There's plenty here.

I'll have some.

Oh, wonderful. OK. Good.

Um, I'm thinking a medium? Medium to large?

Hi. Hi.

Hey, I saw you at town hall, didn't I?

Yeah.

Are you the ones handing out condoms?

BOTH: Yeah. We've been doing the same.

A few of us sex workers. Up on the streets at the Cross.

And in some of the brothels as well.

That must be tough. 'Tough's an understatement.

Beside from anything else, if the cops raid a place,

they can use condoms as evidence to shut it down.

So nobody's keen on them. Wow.

What about the, um, the clients?

How do you convince THEM to wear a condom?

I'm still trying to figure that out. It's so hard.

We've been handing out clean needles.

Are you lot doing that? No.

You might wanna think about it.

The IV drug users, they fly right under the radar.

You should come in. Be so good to hear more about what you're doing.

The address is on the flyer.

I might see you there.

Cool. Keep up the good work, huh?

Yes. Cheers. 'Bye.

Hi. Oh, you've got one.

(GRITTY DANCE MUSIC PLAYS) Good.

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

Mate, you alright?

Are you OK?

Need a hand? Ah, I fainted.

Came out here to get some fresh air.

You're sick, aren't you?

That obvious?

I was too scared to go to the hospital.

So you came to a nightclub? Yeah.

Didn't know what else to do.

Let's get you home, eh? Where do you live?

(SOBS) I don't have anywhere to go.

Nowhere? No friends?

I don't want them to know I'm sick. (SNIFFS)

How about you come and stay at our place for a few days

until we can find you somewhere?

We're collecting strays.

It's a new hobby.

I don't want to kick you out of your room.

Well, you need it more than we do now.

Plus Deb loves camping.

She's been trying to get me to sleep on the floor for years.

Such a lesbian. You love it.

Thank you.

As soon as I can find somewhere else...

It's all good. We'll find a doctor to come and take a look at you.

Mm. Good luck with that.

He could get really sick.

We couldn't have left him on the street.

No, of course not. I just...

You know, it's a big responsibility.

I know. Um, I'll call Paul tomorrow.

Maybe he can come and take a look at him.

Maybe find him a bed somewhere.

Oh, shit.

Someone's gonna have to be with him the entire time.

At least at the flat.

Will you be OK to look after him?

I can't take any time off work.

Yeah, of course.

Um, no, you go to work. I'll...

I'll sort it. Someone's gotta pay the rent.

Don't forget all the purloined stationery

and the endless secret photocopying.

I am serious. So am I.

If I had to make vats of lentil soup and paint banners all day,

I think I'd go off my head.

I love you.

How could you not?

(ALARM CLOCK BEEPS)

(TURNS OFF ALARM)

It's not even light yet.

(SIGHS) Go back to sleep.

(SIGHS)

The Reagan Government refuses to acknowledge AIDS exists.

American doctors can't get any money to treat their patients.

Gay men are just...

(AEROPLANE FLIES OVERHEAD)

..being left to die.

But at last the virus has been identified.

Although there's a battle on

between the French and the American researchers

over who was the first to do it.

Finally an answer.

But there's not a lot of comfort in it.

HIV targets the body's T cells,

the cells that provide us with immunity to infection.

It doesn't just attack them.

It uses the cells' own replication system

to create new copies of itself.

This causes the host T cell to pretty much explode,

leaving the body defenceless.

You never know what you might pick up.

Come on, Jamie. Just a few mouthfuls.

Gabe swears by it. It's his mum's recipe.

You should burn those sheets.

You kidding? They're my favourite.

You're too close.

You are not going to infect us.

Who is that? Virginia Woolf.

She looks so unhappy. (LAUGHS)

Maybe focus on Evonne Goolagong instead.

She's unstoppable.

I thought I was unstoppable.

What am I looking at?

I think this is the message we should be promoting.

The gay community are not waiting around to be told what to do.

They're getting on with it.

Some people would call this pornographic.

The genius of this is that it's in a form and language

that's familiar to the gay community.

It's frank and honest.

They're trying to make sex safer and safer sex sexy.

This sort of image will grab their attention.

It grabbed mine.

Its tone is positive.

We need to lift our game on prevention and education.

Trust me on this. I know this community, how it works.

You're serious. We treat people like adults.

Give them the information in a language they understand.

It worked for stopping blood donations.

That was a legal activity.

All these things - anal sex, IV drug use, sex with sex workers -

this is the real world.

This is all stuff that we need to bring out of the shadows,

talk about, admit that we all do it.

Well, some of us. Some of us.

We should let the affected communities lead the response.

It does take it out of the hands and mouths of the politicians.

That could be useful. We have to keep it apolitical.

These high-risk activities, they're all criminal.

Yes, they are.

So we'll have to include the state police ministers

as well as the health departments.

I met with Patrick Stratton on the weekend. He was supportive.

No doubt he'll find that flyer very illuminating.

Hey, Mich, any word from Paul about a bed?

No. I think Jamie will be with us for a little while yet.

(PHONE RINGS)

You need your couch back. No.

You're fine. This... That floor is good.

This couch is way too soft for my back.

You two have too much going on right now.

You got Jamie in your bedroom.

You got the campaign headquarters in your kitchen.

The least I can do is give your couch back.

Liam, please don't worry about it.

It'll be an adventure.

Who knows what I might find?

Or who.

(JAMIE SPLUTTERS)

Your meeting with the NSW Police Department adviser

has been shifted by two hours.

You're now meeting at midnight. Midnight? So late?

She believes there's no point in meeting any earlier.

Right, I suppose she has a point. See you Monday.

Thank you for giving up your evening to be my tour guide.

Whatever we can do to assist.

(CAR PULLS UP)

(CAR ENGINE STOPS)

(BACK CAR DOORS SLAM)

We're in Darlinghurst Road

heading for what they call the Wall.

It's the most infamous gay pick-up strip in Sydney.

It's at the rear of the Supreme Court of NSW.

We love a good dose of irony.

(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC)

Some of these men are so young.

We want to regulate sex work,

keep the workers safe from everything.

Someone gave you the wrong directions there, honey.

But hey, if the pay's right... I can be versatile.

I'm not looking, thanks.

# Pushed around and kicked around

# Always a lonely boy

# You were the one that they'd talk about

# Around town as they put you down

# And as hard as they would try

# They'd hurt to make you cry

# But you never cried to them

# Just to your soul

# No, you never cried to them

# Just to your soul

# Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away

# Cry, boy, cry

# Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away

# Crying to your soul

# Run away, turn away, run away

# Turn away, run away

# Crying to your soul

# Run away, turn away, run away

# Turn away, run away... # (CAR DOOR OPENS)

(CAR DOOR SHUTS)

(DOOR SHUTS)

(SIGHS AND DROPS KEYS)

Gabe. What?

Hi. I'm Liam. Um, you must be David.

What are you doing on my couch?

And where is Gabe? At work, I think.

Gabe said that I could crash for a few nights.

You're not supposed to be home till the weekend.

I've got a couple of meetings here.

(OPENS AND CLOSES FRIDGE) (BOTTLES CLINK)

Good excuse to come home early.

This picture gives me wing envy.

It's Icarus.

Is it wrong to find something so heartbreaking a turn-on?

Good luck with the couch. You're gonna need it.

(SIGHS)

(SIGHS)

Is this yours?

I never wear a watch.

I haven't had sex with your boyfriend.

He's a nice guy. He's just... He's really not my type.

I would tell you if I had.

I spent way too long keeping secrets and I don't do that shit anymore.

(PHONE RINGS)

(PHONE STOPS RINGING)

(SIGHS)

(PHONE RINGS)

David Westford.

Minister. (CLEARS THROAT)

Yes. Good morning.

Now? Uh, of course.

(HANGS UP AND SIGHS)

I asked a police department adviser to take me on a tour last night.

The Cross. The Wall.

I wanted to see for myself

the kind of places high-risk groups congregate.

The Wall?

Some of them are so young.

Do you think they're homeless?

Ah, I don't know. I'd say some of them probably are.

I had no idea.

The number of homeless gay men is rising. I do know that.

They're being kicked out by terrified landlords,

their...their families sometimes.

Families?

This is where their respective communities can help us.

You know, they can speak to them directly.

Thank you for organising a meeting so quickly.

..politic speak is we'll give it to you in 10 years' time.

We do need some financial promises being made by the end of this.

(ALL CHATTER) Good morning, everyone.

Morning, Minister. Hi.

Hello.

Is, uh, Gabe joining us?

I haven't seen him.

Well, thank you all for meeting with us this morning.

Thank you. I'm Deb Ferguson.

There are a bunch of us here as you can see.

We're from three different volunteer organisations

but there's plenty more out there.

I'm Katerina. I'm here on behalf of a group of sex workers.

I'm Aseel Rais.

Alessio Santangelo.

We've already met and discussed our concerns.

Great. Thanks, Deb.

And I appreciate you all being here at such short notice.

All of us here have the same goal -

to prevent the spread of AIDS

and to provide assistance to those already affected.

We're talking to the top epidemiologists in the country

and keeping a close eye on developments overseas,

especially in the United States.

We're seeking multi-party support for a national AIDS policy.

But I'm here to ask you what you need from us.

Money. Money.

Cash. Seriously.

A bunch of us are single-handedly trying

to get condoms accepted by all our clients.

If we're gonna fight this thing,

then we need to revolutionise the entire sex industry

and we can't keep paying for it ourselves.

Exactly. And the IV drug users.

That's another group that's gonna need financial support.

Everything we're doing right now, we're paying for ourselves.

Yeah, we sure are.

Either out of our own pockets or rattling tins.

The work is being done by volunteers

doing unsustainable hours.

It's impossible. Yes, that's right.

It is only going to get worse.

Infections are rising exponentially.

Oh, and we're all criminals. Yeah.

Except you, actually.

Lesbians can't have sex. Isn't that the theory?

Don't have the right tools.

Look, just help us do what we're doing.

We know what needs to be done.

Yes.

ASEEL: Why would we trust you?

Now, the government hasn't exactly been pro-gay in the past.

That's right. You can say that again.

We want to direct federal funding to local community groups like yours

and ask the state health departments to match that funding.

Good luck trying to get the conservatives

to agree to that, am I right?

The conservatives are a lot better than you might think.

If you can form an alliance,

bring your various groups together,

amalgamate and incorporate, become properly constituted,

then we can get funding to you.

The decisions about policy,

where the money is spent, whose call is that?

Yeah! Yeah.

The responsibility will be yours. Until the next election.

You lose power and all of this disappears.

We're determined to make these policies unassailable.

Who knew pollies could be so reasonable?

Next step...lawyers, bank managers, real estate agents.

Well, the wheels of government don't exactly turn quickly,

so...I think it'll be a while yet.

You don't think he...

I don't know.

WOMAN ON P.A.: Would the following passengers

please make their way to Gate 2?

David Hines, Elizabeth Armstrong and Dimity Taylor.

(P.A. CHIMES)

Patrick.

I hate this place.

It's like a glorified bus depot.

And full of politicians.

How'd you go with your compatriots?

Well, the consensus is, this is not a time for politicking.

Thank you for that. I'm sure it wasn't easy.

Hmm.

We're looking at funding community groups to run the response.

Right. Well, that's, um, radical, to say the least.

I've met with some of them. They're good people.

Nothing like that's ever been done before.

I love it.

You do? Yes, we do.

I'll support this as much as we can.

We all know we have to keep politics out of this.

Some Nationals in Queensland will hate it, of course,

but that's our problem, not yours.

Hello, handsome.

Mmm!

Got your note. I wasn't expecting you till Friday.

There is something I need to talk to you about.

(SCOFFS)

This?

I'm sorry you had to find out like that before I had a chance to...

I was going to tell you.

There's a thing called a phone, Gabe.

I wasn't trying to hide anything.

It's no big deal, really.

I spend so much time on my own now. I got lonely.

That's all.

It was just sex.

I haven't seen him again.

I know this is what happens, what gay men do. I get it.

I just didn't think it would be us.

I don't mind what you do in Canberra.

What I do in Canberra is work.

That's all I do.

Let's just move on.

I'm looking for someone named Jamie.

Jamie? Yeah.

Surname.

I don't know.

I can't give out personal information unless you're family.

I'm his chosen family.

His real family don't want anything to do with him.

I'm sorry. I can't help you.

He's probably dying.

Are you happy for him to die alone?

Aren't you supposed to care for people?

This isn't exactly caring.

Come with me.

There's no-one called Jamie in here.

I'm sorry.

They keep it locked. 24 hours a day.

That's not even a ward. That's a room.

Until we get more space, we're turning people away.

Which might be what happened to your friend.

Does the food just sit there?

Well, some of us go in, of course.

The hospital requires that we wear full protective gear.

Which I hate.

The patients should be able to see us.

We were looking after Jamie at our home.

We didn't use protective...

None of us have got sick here.

Thank you for looking after them.

For feeding them.

They're God's children too.

(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)

Is that you, Mich? We're in here.

Jamie's gone?

No, well... We don't know.

He just vanished.

He's not at St Vincent's.

I checked at a bunch of clinics.

He left a note.

"Sorry."

Have you been out to The Gap?

Yeah. I went.

No-one's been found there today.

I'll go back tomorrow.

We could go to Patchs tonight.

So in the mood to party.

Someone there might have seen him.

(UPBEAT DISCO MUSIC PLAYS)

# Ladies' night Adonis

# Working after hours

# Ripples on my chest Never got an address... #

(MUSIC DISTORTS AND DIMS)

Hello.

Boyfriend. This way. Sorry.

They have no idea what's going on.

You know, maybe 40% of the men in this room are gonna get sick.

And that's why you spend 95% of your time

away from home to stop that happening.

We need to work so much faster.

(MICROPHONE FEEDBACK)

Alright, you criminals and reprobates,

delinquents and malefactors,

underworld creatures, breakers of laws, stealers of hearts,

we know how much you love your illegal status

but we have some bad news to impart.

(CROWD SIGHS)

The NSW Parliament has decided it does love sodomy after all.

(CROWD CHEERS) We are no longer criminals!

(DRIVING DISCO MUSIC PLAYS) Yeah!

How amazing is it to be legal?

It's not gonna save us.

Come on, babe, it's got to make your job so much easier.

MAN: Hey, Gabe.

Who was that? Some guy.

Nobody. Does it matter?

It does matter.

Can we please not do this here?

So they finally let him out of Canberra.

Lovers. How good is our government, hm?

Finally something useful.

Funding our community activists.

It must be amazing to be in the middle of all that.

Yeah. Ah, sort of, I guess.

Oh, come on, I'd love to be in your shoes.

There's a lot more people than me involved.

Oh, you are so cute when you're modest.

Mwah! Ohh! Oh, we love you, Davey boy.

You are famous.

They don't know what they're saying. Oh, come on, babe.

There's a whole department involved, Gabe,

and we don't have it under control.

So stuff like that is just...

..ridiculous.

You need to lighten up.

Please tell me how I should lighten up.

Tell me!

I work my arse off in Canberra,

I come home and find some guy on the couch.

Who, Liam? And someone's watch under the bed.

That was just one time.

How am I supposed to believe that?

I just saw you lining up your next root.

I'm not gonna dignify that with a response.

And I'm not gonna sit at home knitting

while you're off fighting the war.

Good to know.

But I'm here for you completely.

And if you wanna play around in Canberra...

Oh... ..I won't feel threatened.

This other stuff is nothing. Just a bit of fun.

You know that and you know me.

I don't know anything anymore.

Honey, you're being a little bit of a diva right now.

Fuck off.

David, I am not gonna stay when I'm not wanted.

Fine.

(RAIN PATTERS)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

(HEARTFELT MUSIC)

# Looking from the window above

# It's like a story of love

# Can you hear me?

# Came back only yesterday

# I'm moving further away

# Want you near me

# Oooh

# All I needed was the love you gave

# All I needed for another day

# And all I ever knew... #

(DAVID OPENS DOOR)

# Only you... # (DOOR CLOSES)

(SIGHS)

(GROANS)

NEWSREADER: ..are currently on the scene.

There's been an unexpected development in the AIDS crisis.

It has been reported today

that three babies have died of AIDS in Queensland

and a fourth is critically ill

after receiving contaminated blood donations

from the same donor, a homosexual man.

# Only you. #

Everyone is shit-scared of this thing and you should be too.

If one of my girls get it with the guys they see, we'll all be fucked.

But we have to bring the rest of the community to the table,

so we're making the table bigger.

This is our new ward.

Don't know if I'm meant to tell you this, but Gabe has moved to Newtown.

So have a think about

whether you're really and truly prepared to know the result,

because if it is positive,

that is not something you can unknow.

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation