NZ (Queer) Politics.
I spent the weekend in Hamilton, at a UniQ Conference. There was lots of the usual debauchery but it was also very political, far more so than usual. Probably has something to do with the election in November...
One session was quite a general one with three politicians - Chris Carter (Independent, formally Labour), Louisa Wall (Labour), and Kevin Hague (The Greens). A lot of what they said was a sales pitch, both for their parties and MMP. They talked about civil unions, marriage, adoption, bullying: all the queer issues you’d expect, really, while also celebrating the 25th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform Bill. It’s hard to believe that it was illegal to have gay sex a mere 25 years ago in this country.
But it was Chris Carter’s talk that was by far the most interesting.
The furore caused by his travel expenses has essentially kicked him out of politics, and he is understandably very bitter about it. And even after hearing him talk, I don’t think he had any right in using taxpayer money to take subsided holidays for himself and his partner. He probably doesn’t think that himself - he certainly didn’t bring it up around us, and we were an extremely friendly audience. But he talked about a similar furore that occurred when he was a senior minister in Helen Clark’s government, when he was taking Peter with him on official business. (Other ministers take their wives with them when they travel, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have been able to take his partner.) He talked about how that was received overseas, and how it made a hugely positively statement about Queer rights and New Zealand as a whole. Because here you have this senior government official travelling with his male partner - a partner that everyone has to suddenly (and politely) accommodate. He told us about having dinner with the Chinese Premier and his wife, and how Peter was seated with three of them, acknowledged and respected. That’s a powerful thing, and I’m actually really pleased that Chris Carter put up with so much shit from the Herald to do it.
One session was quite a general one with three politicians - Chris Carter (Independent, formally Labour), Louisa Wall (Labour), and Kevin Hague (The Greens). A lot of what they said was a sales pitch, both for their parties and MMP. They talked about civil unions, marriage, adoption, bullying: all the queer issues you’d expect, really, while also celebrating the 25th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform Bill. It’s hard to believe that it was illegal to have gay sex a mere 25 years ago in this country.
But it was Chris Carter’s talk that was by far the most interesting.
The furore caused by his travel expenses has essentially kicked him out of politics, and he is understandably very bitter about it. And even after hearing him talk, I don’t think he had any right in using taxpayer money to take subsided holidays for himself and his partner. He probably doesn’t think that himself - he certainly didn’t bring it up around us, and we were an extremely friendly audience. But he talked about a similar furore that occurred when he was a senior minister in Helen Clark’s government, when he was taking Peter with him on official business. (Other ministers take their wives with them when they travel, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have been able to take his partner.) He talked about how that was received overseas, and how it made a hugely positively statement about Queer rights and New Zealand as a whole. Because here you have this senior government official travelling with his male partner - a partner that everyone has to suddenly (and politely) accommodate. He told us about having dinner with the Chinese Premier and his wife, and how Peter was seated with three of them, acknowledged and respected. That’s a powerful thing, and I’m actually really pleased that Chris Carter put up with so much shit from the Herald to do it.