The Kiwi Perspective
by Tim Barnett
Greetings from Aotearoa, New Zealand, the brave little country at the end of the Earth! I am gay and one of the 5 out-and-proud Rainbow Members of the 121 Members of the New Zealand Parliament, all part of the New Zealand Labour Party (like progressive Democrats in U.S. politics). I am the senior government whip, a crucial internal management and political liaison role. Chris Carter is gay, and a senior member of the Cabinet as minister of education. Maryan Street is lesbian, a new member of the Cabinet, and minister of housing. Charles Chauvel is gay, of Tahitian origin, and chair of Parliament’s Finance Committee. And Louisa Wall is Maori (New Zealand’s indigenous population) and lesbian, and Parliament’s newest Member of Parliament. She is also a former member of New Zealand’s netball and women’s rugby teams. Until recently Georgina Beyer was a Labour MP. She is transgender—the world’s first trannie MP—and Maori. It is truly a bundle of Rainbow excitement in the New Zealand Parliament!
Just a few words about our little country: There are 4 million of us, 70 percent being European, 16 percent Maori, and the rest of Pacific or Asian origin. Our country is long and thin and very mountainous, having produced the only Winter Olympics medalist from the Southern Hemisphere. The scenery, food, and wine are stunning. For the past 10 years we have had women prime ministers, with a Labour government for the last 8 years.
New Zealand has experienced a quarter century of great queer progress. Since 1985 we have moved from the position of gay sex being illegal and there being no protection in law against anti-gay discrimination to being one of the leading countries outside Europe in the extent and stability of our LGBT rights. Many argue that the development of such rights generally follows a classic path, and so it has been here. The removal of criminality in 1986 was followed by a period when the police did not enforce the law. Then came the introduction of human rights protections, initially partial in 1994, then comprehensive in 2001. The introduction of special protections, recognising our particular vulnerability to attacks based on prejudice against us, arrived in 2000. The introduction of full parenting rights (partial in 2004) came later. Finally relationship rights were gained in 2005—more about that later.
What is left to be achieved is adoption rights for same-sex couples (a minor law change since there are so few adoptions in contemporary New Zealand, but of great symbolic importance), embedded rights for sperm donors, and more overt human rights protections for the transgender community. What we face is the lobby power of the fundamentalists—they cannot beat us in a straight fight, but the time it takes to deal with their prejudiced hysteria can deter some middle-of-the-road politicians from active support for our cause.
The last word should go to civil unions. They are absolutely legally equal to marriage, are open to same-sex and to different-sex couples, and have proved to be a great success. The ceremonies have become very special events—certainly celebratory, often poignant, just a little political, a real journey of understanding and reconciliation for cautious heterosexual family members. They are maybe our special Kiwi gift to Queerdom worldwide.
Tim Barnett
Member of Parliament
Christchurch Central Electorate
