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Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for coming today. Um, just to state the foundational [00:00:30] rules today, um, this is a place of respect. Um, it's an open floor discussion. Um, with a few questions for me first, which have been collated by the wonderful, um, over the past few weeks. Um, there shall be no heckling from either side. Um, otherwise you'll have me to deal with. Um um, but thank you again to Roxy for organising this political forum on behalf of the community in art and [00:01:00] particularly in Wellington. Um, thank you to our candidates who are here. We've got Jessica haymond from the top party. We've got a from the labour. We've got Troy from integrity and we've got from the national party. Um, from the greens party. Ja. Just stuck on a train. Unfortunately, she is on her way shortly. Um, and we've got a few apologies. Um, from act. Um, we've got no response. Acknowledgement from Maori and Z first and [00:01:30] declined to engage new conservatives. T a and advance. Um, so yeah. Welcome, everyone. Uh, shall we begin? That's good. Cool. Um, so the the way this is gonna run is I'm gonna ask a question. Uh, we've got, um, 2 to 3 minutes to engage in the conversation and state your opinion. Your discussion points, we can go from there, but before we begin all of [00:02:00] that, we'll just need an introduction. So if you can just introduce yourself, um, and say something about yourself. Really? Yeah. Yes, Integrity. Oh, that is really loud, I. I am Troy. I'm running with the Integrity Party of A in New Zealand. We are a brand new party which makes me the newcomer up here on the stage, [00:02:30] We were founded by a group of people who were unhappy with the way that the larger political parties were running. So we started our own system, our own way to try and replicate them. I am the deputy leader. I will be standing in. I have been fighting for queer rights almost my entire life on Twitter. Recently, it came up with I actually had to think about the history because on Twitter it came up with a statement of tell us about the most on brand thing you did when you were in high school and I had to think about it, and it occurred [00:03:00] to me that the most on brand thing I did was discover that my school dance wouldn't allow me to take a same sex partner. So despite the fact that I was single, I started a massive campaign to try and get the school to change that role. They did about three years later. So I'm told in order to try and fight for that right. And this is also the story of how I came out at my high school. Interesting change. These days I've been fighting for the right to donate blood. That is something I would really like to [00:03:30] be able to do. But I started a petition about four months ago, and many of you in this room have already put your name on it. So thank you for that. I am trying to get it before Parliament. At the moment, I had to email my local MP. I'm supposed to be nice, so I won't mention who my local MP is. I tell you when she isn't so busy, she might respond. So integrity is a new party formed on the basis of whole [00:04:00] order, which is the Maori philosophy of well-being trying to do what is right for people equality the, um the philosophy of making sure that everyone is equal. We do know that not everyone is born in the same position and we need to spend a bit of time getting people to that position. That is what we focus on and integrity because we believe that when you're saying you're going to do something, you should actually then do it. So I am standing in the electorate of So if you live in Wellington, south or Wellington [00:04:30] East, you'll be able to vote for me. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Aisha Be and I'm a labour list candidate. And some of you might recognise me from the lockdown when I was an advocate for contact tracing and con wrote a go a report for the government on how to improve our contact tracing system, which was part of the fantastic response. We've had more broadly in New Zealand to beat the [00:05:00] virus and to mean that we can be meeting in a space like this today to tell you a little bit about myself. Um, I'm, uh I'm from Southland, and I came out when I was at high school. And I was wondering today Oh, who who found out about this event through the Internet through Facebook or or something like that? Right. Any of you, Um, I probably was one of the last people to come out before the internet. And if you, um, came out since then just [00:05:30] to explain what it was like, there was a letter writing to a PO box to get the, um, address of a place in Wellington in in the cargo where my dad had to drive me two hours in the car and I met this man Colin underneath the mud sculpture at Valentine's. Um, so totally a different world. So, um uh, from there, I went to university, met the love of my life. Alice at at University. We're in a civil union partnership [00:06:00] and we have a seven year old girl and thank you. That's something I take for for granted at all. And, um, I became an infectious diseases specialist, and in that role, I had the privilege of looking after some members of the rainbow community. That's a part of that job as well. Uh, and it's been amazing to see the changes that have happened in that space during my life. And another part of my job that I'm really proud of is that I teach medical students about how to treat our community with dignity and respect. [00:06:30] Um, so, uh, I'm very happy and proud to be standing for labour because of the inclusive society that labour stands for. Thank you very much. And thank you to the organisers for having us together today. Uh uh uh KK James Co Harriet CO Gloria [00:07:00] A, uh and I am very proud to call this place my home. I'm Nicola Willis. I'm a national party list MP based very proudly here in Wellington. I entered Parliament in 2018. I tried to get there in 2017, and I made it for just two weeks. And then the special votes were recounted. I got kicked out again and waited until other members retired, uh, and then entered. And I've had a great 2.5 years in Parliament. [00:07:30] I'm proud to stand for the National Party because of the values that we represent. We represent equality of opportunity, reward for reward for achievement, personal responsibilities, strong families, strong communities and When I think about the issues that we are gonna discuss in this room today, I see them through the lens of my Children, which is right now we know that if you're growing up in New Zealand as a member of the Rainbow Community Research Paper, after research paper tells [00:08:00] us that you're more likely to experience issues of, um, mental distress brought about by the environment that you are being, uh, that you are living in. And we've seen research here in Wellington, uh, by Gloria Fraser and others, which shows that even in a society that has progressed, uh, we still see that young people find it difficult to come out and find it difficult to fully express their gender and sexual identity. And I want a New Zealand where everybody can be [00:08:30] proud in their identity. They can express it proudly, and where no-one growing up queer in New Zealand, need experience the rates of, um, ill health that we we continue to see today. So to me, that's the vision that we should all have as lawmakers and policy makers. Um, I know that in this room there are people who have fought hard for advancement of many issues. I commend you. I commend the organisers who are here for the work you do for the Wellington Rainbow community. Uh, and I look forward to the opportunity today [00:09:00] not only to speak to you, but to listen. Uh, for as long as I am a lawmaker, I want to be open to a range of perspectives and open, uh, to hearing from those who have experience, uh, in the grassroots of our community. So thank you for this opportunity. My name is Jessica Hammond. I'm very proud to be representing the opportunities party. And, [00:09:30] um, you're gonna hear a lot. I think about our policies today and how they will actually make a difference for your lives. It's not just about saying the right things, but it's about doing things that will actually make a difference to you in terms of your well-being. Your experiences, um, of, uh, poverty of health, of mental health, of housing, of affordable housing. So we'll get to that. But I just want to tell you a little bit about, um myself and how I have come here today. Um, I grew [00:10:00] up in a deeply homophobic Catholic household where when I was a child, my mom campaigned, um, against homosexual law reform. And I was told as a child that if I were a lesbian, that I would always be welcome in my home. But my friend would not be now, that was, um, unpleasant for me. But it turns [00:10:30] out it was absolutely crushing for my brother, who you may have heard of his. His name is Robin Hammond. He's a, um um Human rights photo journalist. Um, he he the the little girl with, um, transgender girl with pink hair. On the cover of National Geographic was his, um, photo. He has a project called We Love Is Illegal where you'd be very, very welcome to share your stories. Um, so he for many years [00:11:00] has been campaigning, particularly in countries where it is literally illegal to not be straight and suspended. Um, but he also works in other countries where it is legal, but really freaking difficult and awful. Um, he last year at the age of 44 told us that he is bisexual, 44 and you can imagine why he did not feel comfortable [00:11:30] telling us that beforehand. The really shocking thing was when he told my mother and she goes, I think I might be as well During lockdown, my little eight year old daughter was seeming very thoughtful and we went for a little walk together and I could see she had something on her mind. And when we got back home, you know, I was saying, Are you [00:12:00] OK? Are you OK? And she goes, I want to tell you something and I thought, It's OK, you can tell me anything and she goes, Oh, can you just guess? And I said, Is it something about who you love? And she said Yes. And I said, Is it that you love girls? And she said, Oh, you sort of. And I said, Is it that you love girls and boys? And she said Yes. And I said, Thank you for telling me, baby, I'm really proud of you and I I [00:12:30] am really proud that she is an eight year old is now nine. felt totally fine to tell your mum that when my brother had to wait until he was 44. So I know we'd like to get to a world where coming out isn't even a thing that you need to do because I didn't need to come out. Um, but I hope it's an improvement, and we can fight for more improvements that [00:13:00] that we work. Um, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Vivian. I'm the chair of Wellington Pride Festival. A few committee members as well here. So if you do see us around later, please make sure to say hi and give us your feedback for the, um committee so we can celebrate all queer people for next year. Um, it's getting bigger and better next year as well. Um, but thank you so much [00:13:30] for this introduction. So shall we begin with the questions? Great. So the first question is, with respect to the BLM movement, what specific policies will your party introduce? Or further to improve the lives of LGBT TQIAP plus black and brown indigenous people of colour in a how are we gonna help people of colour in the queer community? [00:14:00] Well, being one, that's kind of a big issue for me being Maori. I often find that walking into queer spaces here in Wellington, I tend to be the brownest person in the room, and I mean, look at me. That's not OK. Not even slightly. So, uh, representation is by far one of the biggest things that we can offer. We have not yet got. As far as sorting out a policy for dealing with black lives matter for integrity, we just built a party. We are working on that one, and [00:14:30] it's very high on my list of priorities. But representation is what matters. Being able to see yourself represented in the mainstream and then the people around you is incredibly important to make the people feel as though they're included in a community. For example, if I can do that annoying thing, politicians do anyone in the room right now, I'm gonna ask, and I'm not gonna make fun of you. But anyone in the room, I'm gonna ask that if you identify as not Paki ha white or Caucasian, please raise your hand. [00:15:00] There's a few of us here, and that's great. But remember how we're the biggest country in the South Pacific and that's the only people that we have here who put their hands up. Where is everyone else? Representation is what I am aiming for. Thank you, Troy. Thank you. So um, as I said, Uh, I'm really proud to be a Labour member because we stand for an inclusive society and it's been really heartening [00:15:30] to see the black lives matter across the country across the world raise the issue of systemic racism and the uncomfortable reckoning we all have to have in every country about systemic racism. Some of the things that Labour has done to address this in New Zealand is to teach the actual history of introduce policy that the actual history of a needs to be taught in our schools, including, uh, the New Zealand, New Zealand wars and schools. In addition, Labour's [00:16:00] introduced a policy called which is addressing the, um, uh unconscious bias and how it impacts Maori learners. And there's, uh, pilot programmes underway to, uh, engage Maori learners more in in learning and to address uh, racism that they encounter. I know for our community, uh, for rainbow communities, um, issues. Some of these issues, especially for people of colour, are particularly fraught when it comes to the police. And one measure that Labour has taken is [00:16:30] introducing diversity liaison officers throughout the police force in New Zealand that are meant to be. And when, uh, times are good reaching out and building relationships with community. But also then when we do need the support of the police, hopefully finding a more friendly face when we need to engage with them. I think finally, this this question is about the intersection of our identities both as rainbow and as, uh, minority peop, uh, people, minority ethnicities, black and brown people. [00:17:00] And I think you just need to look at the Labour Caucus to know how seriously we take this. So, uh, Grant Robertson is a pakeha, uh, man. But in our caucus, the leaders of the Labour Rainbow Caucus include, uh, Tamati Coffee. Uh, Kitty Allen. You'll know Louisa Wall from her work in, um uh, in in, uh, marriage equality. And I hope to join this caucus if you party vote labour, and I am a woman, Um, I'm Maldivian as well as ethnicity, and I hope I bring my perspective [00:17:30] as an Asian woman to that, uh, to that caucus. So thank you. Thank you. Well, like Troy and Ahi, can I acknowledge that? Of course, there are some really challenging issues of intersectionality, uh, in our community, uh, speaking before this debate. Today we were discussing what it is as an organisation, whether you're a political organisation and our in my case representing the national Party or whether you're any other community group such as, [00:18:00] uh, Rainbow Wellington, or such as the Pride Festival. Uh, how we make sure that we are places where voices from all parts of different communities can be heard and can feel able to share a voice. And that's certainly something that I think we need to strive for as parliamentarians, that we don't just represent ourselves, but that we represent a broad range of people and I stand by my record as an MP of being highly engaged across the community and providing opportunities for people to share their perspectives with [00:18:30] me in terms of law making. Sometimes that requires of us to say that the way that we have done things in the past isn't good enough and that we have to do better. And I'm really proud of Nationals record in terms of expunging homosexual convictions, bringing forward legislation to do that because to me that is an example of a law that was wrong at the time but that by keeping those convictions actually meant that some members of our community faced ongoing [00:19:00] harm into the future because they had that conviction. And so the move by national to expunge those convictions was a good one. And I think an example of how we can make progress together as a community. Thank you. So, you know, at top, we think that we don't want to just, um, put band aids on every solution, and we don't want to just see the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. So, um, you know, the first thing the top is very committed to is honouring the treaty, and that includes recognising Maori water rights, [00:19:30] which is something that we need to do in and of itself. But it's also something we need to do. Um, before we can, um, resolve commercial water rights use and protect our environment. Um, but in terms of what is going to make a real difference for, uh, for Maori Pacific people, people of colour and people of the rainbow community who are all overrepresented in some of the really dire statistics in New Zealand is to, um reduce, [00:20:00] eliminate poverty and address housing costs and housing discrimination. So, uh, a universal basic income of $250 a week for every adult, $40 for every child is our flagship policy. And that means working income doesn't it is none of their business who you live with, who you are having sex with. You get that money regardless, as as a right. You don't have to deal with MS [00:20:30] D any more. Um, we also want to address the housing crisis because housing costs are the biggest driver of poverty in New Zealand. No question, they are the biggest driver of inequality in New Zealand. So in terms of things that are actually going to make a difference to the lives of people of colour and communities and anyone else who is disadvantaged in New Zealand, those are the two major things we need to do. What? [00:21:00] Thank you. Um, the next question is, what will your party, what will your party do to continue to develop the health and well-being of Rainbow communities, especially for our youth and trans intersex and non binary final choice, Health and well-being is a very important one to us, Water literally means well-being. In Maori, we have a policy to increase funding to the mental health system here [00:21:30] in New Zealand, to give every New Zealander the ability to access two years free preventative care and mental health. That's psychotherapy and counselling. And this is incredibly important and will go a long way to de stigmatising issues around mental health. When we're talking about the rainbow community, our community is 12 times more likely than the straight community to be represented in mental health statistics. And one in five in our community has a attempted suicide. At some point in our life that [00:22:00] is huge. And if you're talking about the trans and intersex community, that statistic is even higher. So our mental health policy is about de stigmatising seeking help and finding someone who can talk you through those concerns. Thank you. Uh, this is an issue very close to my heart working in the health sector, And I think, um, firstly, it's important just to think, um, reflect [00:22:30] on what the government has done for health for the rainbow community. In the last term, we were elected saying Labour was elected, saying they would, uh, fund um, pre expo prep or pre exposure prophylaxis, which is medicine that can be taken regularly in advance of having sex to prevent HIV transmission during sex and that is now available in our community. And it's just wonderful. I mean, it raises the possibility that, um rather than, um, managing HIV we can move to a community without HIV. The [00:23:00] second, um, thing that's really important is that we've, um, funded the hey. Oh, welcome, Jan. Come on up. Welcome. Uh, we've funded the health behavioural survey, which, um, sounds very geeky, and but it is important to people who aren't just epidemiologists like me. So, um, this is a survey of [00:23:30] the rainbow community sexual behaviour and the importance of it is we really need to make health interventions for good sexual health for our community based on data and not on prejudice. So it's crucial. And the last government didn't fund that, uh, survey, and we've reinstated funding for it. And then, as Troy has mentioned, there is a real issue for our community in terms of mental health care and labour has made a an investment in mental health care that is really once in a generation, we have funded [00:24:00] for over 10,000 people to be able to have, um, uh, free counselling services. And in our region in Wellington, that's, um, primarily through the picky programme, which is focused, uh, particularly on young people. Cool. So those are really key areas. Of course, there is more to do. That is particularly the case for transgender, um, where we have, um uh, we have got the beginnings of, um, access to surgery, but clearly that access needs to be improved. So [00:24:30] we have a system for it, but the funding is is not adequate. And that is obviously a place where more work remains to be done. Thank you. I think one of the things that we sometimes underestimate the impact of, but that does make a difference for young people. Growing up is celebrating diversity, you know, and I. I think about this when I think about my kids who for as long as they can remember, have known that Mum goes [00:25:00] off to pride parades and goes off to out in the park. And when they've asked me what it's about, it's actually very easy to say. Well, because people are different, they have different experiences, and we celebrate everyone. But for a long time. People whose experiences and the mainstream experience have had a hard time in New Zealand and they look up at me with their little innocent faces and they can't really conceive of that. But it opens up the opportunity for those conversations. So we need to continue to have [00:25:30] things like pride parades out in the park pride festivals to open up conversations not only with young people and Children, but actually with employers with our colleagues and with all of us. Because I think it's by having those outward expressions, uh, that we're able to have some of the difficult conversations about those areas where progress is yet to be made. Nationals had a policy position where we have committed additional funding to the AIDS Foundation, who we believe do incredible work, uh, and have got some incredible results. [00:26:00] Uh, as a, um talks about, um, the other area that I am particularly interested in as nationals education spokesperson is what we do in our schools in terms of mental health skills, mental health, resilience and how we create inclusive schooling environments. We have had a petition to the Education and Workforce Select Committee of Parliament uh, from young people themselves, saying We think this needs to be done better and it's been fascinating because we've had the Ministry of Education come to us and say, You know, the [00:26:30] curriculum already includes all of the stuff. Lots of schools are doing a great job. There's some brilliant programmes out there and you're right, it is in the curriculum and there are some brilliant programmes out there. But we need to do a a much better job of holding every school accountable for ensuring it creates an inclusive environment free of bullying and harassment, and that it provides all Children and equips all Children with the mental health skills they need to succeed in what can be a really difficult job. Thank you. [00:27:00] I really do applaud what the, um the government has done in terms of, um putting extra funding into mental health. I think that's really important. But again, we can't just be dealing with ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. We need to be looking at the, um, causes of ill health and mental ill health. And those in New Zealand are poverty, inequality, housing, uh, shortages. And the people my brother works [00:27:30] with who are, you know, dying early. It's because of homelessness, not, you know, it also because of freaking assaults and appalling things. But you know, this, this is this is a big problem in New Zealand. So we need to address the shortage of housing and the shortage of quality housing the houses that are making us sick. We just We just need to do something about that. And Top is actually the only party that has a policy to change [00:28:00] the tax incentives that basically have people getting wealthy from housing at the cost at the, um, putting that cost on to young people. So people like me who own a house are massively, massively, uh, being advantaged by the housing crisis. And the younger people in this room are paying for our wealth, which is just not on. So these are the causes major causes of ill health. Um, in New Zealand, we just need to address the root [00:28:30] causes of these things. Thank you. Shall we do an introduction today? Um, I'm the green Party rainbow spokesperson and really feel incredibly privileged to have been able to be, um, a spokespeople person for our community in parliament for the last almost nine years, which is frightening. [00:29:00] And in my maiden speech, I clearly defined and named myself as a proud lefty feminist lesbian. And that is the approach I bring to the work and that which is an intersectional one. So I today I'm gonna try and be really super specific around the quest and answers to the questions, um, that we've been given and that they are about looking [00:29:30] forward about what we're going to do. I'm assuming that others on the panel will talk about what's been done. I sit with a feeling that it's not enough yet, and we need to do more. So I'm gonna talk about what the greens are bringing to, um, the possibility of what could be next. So the first question that I as tragic victim of our public transport system. Sorry about that. Um, yeah, I know. It's so hard to be green. Right? Um, so around [00:30:00] the our response to black lives matter And what are our specific policies in addressing racism and structural racism in our country? And those policies are embedded right across, Um, our education policy, uh, about ensuring, um, that is a core curricular subject up to, uh, what is it? 10. You know the word that comes before the [00:30:30] team, um, and ensuring that we do the work. And I like I can look at, um, that we challenge and address and reflect on government practise right across our system, within justice, as in particular. And I think this is particularly relevant around black lives, matters and in correction system and start partnering with Maori and with Pacifica, and actually resourcing [00:31:00] those community responses to identifying problems early and actually helping people avoid a justice system altogether. And we know that in those examples of where that is happening and I understand they come up in, um there's an amazing project happening with Maori Women's Welfare League and there is this work happening all around our country. But we have to resource it, and the government has to step [00:31:30] out of the way of thinking that we always have the answer because actually, sometimes our answer is the wrong one, and we need to really step into that space. It's also around, um, implementing the, uh, response to the review of by the providers because we know that the well-being of our kids and our response to family and sexual violence and child safety [00:32:00] has to critically be work that's done by the whole community. And we're not getting that right now, and that has systemic and long term consequences for everyone in our society at the moment. So they are just some of the specific policies that we have. Um, but it's about resourcing, Maori and Pacifica and actually, um, helping people see the benefit [00:32:30] of the participation of everyone in our country and recognising different knowledge bases and how much better off we all are when those knowledge bases are all at the table and we're a long way from that at the moment. So in answer to the second question, which is around, what will we do to continue to develop the health and well-being of Rainbow Communities, especially, um, the health and well-being of, uh, Rainbow communities, [00:33:00] the youth trends intersex and non-binary for us at the heart of this, our response to this comes from the prism report that was led by the Human Rights Commission, where they identified that we have real issues in terms of aged care where, um, people are ending up going back into the closet and, um, in terms of their gender identity as well as their sexual orientation, because the aged care, um, homes that they are in actually [00:33:30] haven't had the training or the policies in place to support them, to be who they are in those places. And we do need to make sure that we're doing that work, that that resource is happening around training and good guidelines and safe staffing levels within those institutions to make sure that people have got the time and they're protected in terms of their identity. Also around ensuring that we are holding on that vision of being HIV free, um, [00:34:00] in this country and ensuring that we're as well as the anti discrimination work and the, um, access to safe sex that we have, um, that we are using prep and the new tools that are available to us. And that's being supported by good training right across our health care system, because the research is showing us that still, the health system has not caught up with the diversity of us in the world and that there's a lot more work to be done to upskill the full [00:34:30] range of health professionals to be able to respond appropriately to the whole range of our healthcare needs. And then there's. Of course, there's mental health, Um and that's and that is multifaceted. It is about creating a society that is inclusive, where poverty is not a barrier, where people are able to participate on the grounds of who they are as whole people, um, and that there aren't barriers in the way for that. But the prison report also [00:35:00] specifically said that there needs to be tailored services when people's mental health when they are struggling with their mental health. That identifies and responds to them as full people, and those services are not automatically or readily available. And we know that a lot of our community organisations right around the country are doing that work unfunded and unsupported [00:35:30] all too often. And I think that's one of our places where we can really gain is by getting the resource into our communities and supporting those people who are doing it already. And I think it's also obviously around, um, ensuring that there is no um um consented and unnecessary medical intervention on intersex babies. And it is also [00:36:00] also about ensuring that there is, um, equal and easy access to gender affirming health care consistently from, um, to the north. Sorry. First time. Thank you, John. Um, yeah, I absolutely agree. There's been a lot of work that's been done, but there's so much more work to be done. And that leads on [00:36:30] to the one more popular questions. Um, that's arisen from this, um um uh, forum, which is recently we news dot co dot NZ did an interview with Jan with Nicola with the honourable Prime Minister, out of which only Jan was pro for the creation of the Ministry for Rainbow Communities. Could you give us an indication as to where you stand personally and why? And would your party support the creation of a ministry Ministry office [00:37:00] for Rainbow Affairs? Mr. I like the idea of a minister for Rainbow Affairs. I do. I just want to know how it would be chosen and what it is because I personally don't like the idea of government doing everything top down and telling everyone below them how they should run their own communities. And quite frankly, I don't think we need another at the top. Telling me how to live my life, so I want to know how it would be chosen first. [00:37:30] So the prime Minister's indicated that this wouldn't be a policy that Labour would take forward at the election. But asked us, um asked the community to hold Labour to account for its deeds. And I think what I take that to me is that, uh, Labour, with its extremely large Rainbow Caucus, should be in there holding the Ministry of Health to account for how we're looking after the Rainbow Community Health holding the Ministry of Housing to account for, [00:38:00] uh, um, uh, access to housing for people in our community and similarly with education as well. So it is definitely not a, um a reluctance to take forward these issues. Just a question about how and I think I kind of echoed Troy's sentiments. I guess I was also asked for a personal view. So this is the personal view, um I, I guess, uh, when I think about how we've achieved change as a community, when I think about the people who fought for [00:38:30] access to medicines for HIV and um the eighties or who fought for marriage equality more recently, Um, when I think about that, what's been great about what our community has achieved has been that it's from It's from the grassroots up, and I'd have a lot of questions to ask. I guess I'm not saying I'm against it, but I'd have a lot of questions about what added value would get by having a, um a bureaucratic, uh, way of achieving. Um uh, achieving [00:39:00] that. So that's that's my question. I'm interested to hear from others about how they think it would work in practise. Thank you. Before I get to my, um, answer, can I just acknowledge Jen Logie? She's the only minister, um, on stage. And, um, we're lucky to have her with us. And I know a lot of the time national and the greens have very different views. Uh, so I just want to share with you that this week we together voted for a pay equity act, [00:39:30] and I just want to acknowledge that because often in these rooms we focus on the differences between our parties which are absolute, and you go off and vote for the for the differences you like or don't like. But there are also areas we have worked on together. Um, and I was really heartened Jan by you and your speech talking about or and the work that we can do to strengthen families so that we actually intervene early to prevent people coming in [00:40:00] touch with the justice system and having some of the inequities we see in our community. So that's another area where we probably see eye to eye in terms of the Rainbow Communities, um, ministry or office for rainbow Communities. Uh, as is mentioned in the question. I've already gone on the on national's position on that, which is that we absolutely accept that there is more progress to be made for rainbow communities across the board, and we accept that as an incoming government, we would need to make that progress. But we're not convinced that a new bureaucratic structure [00:40:30] is the best tool for advancing that, and in fact, we think it's incumbent on every government department. Whether you're the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health, you don't get to delegate responsibility for rainbow communities to another office. You are responsible, and we want every government department to take that approach that they are responsible for all communities. Yeah. I mean, I'm definitely, um, not against the idea. However, I've been a public [00:41:00] servant in a lot of government departments myself, including in population Ministries. And this is my one concern about having a, um, an office for a Ministry for Rainbow Community, which is that what tends to happen is the other departments go well, that's not my problem. And they absolve themselves of any responsibility. And this really, really does happen with women with Maori, with Pacific, with disabilities. That's someone else's problem. I don't have to think about it. Um, so I do. I think it's [00:41:30] something you'd want to think about really carefully. Um, usually, ministers like creating more ministries because the more, um, ministerial portfolios you have, the more the the more you get paid. So I'm surprised there are more of them, um, supporting it. But, um, I just think it's something I can definitely understand the, um the the benefits of having a person who's going to be a a spokesperson and a focal point for, [00:42:00] uh, issues for Rainbow communities. But I just reckon you want to be careful with calling for this one. it's something to think carefully about, thank you. So I'll just quickly lay out the reasons that we're suggesting it. Um, and so one is. It's the fundamental question of why are we the only ones without one? What's the barrier? And I don't think the barrier is any of that. I think it's actually cringe around, actually, people [00:42:30] standing up and standing in solidarity with us and our rights. That's the only barrier that I see to why this hasn't happened already. We have disability, We have seniors, We have youth, We have Children, We have women, We have ethnic communities. We have Pacific people and we have who's missing. It's us and the reason those other agencies exist. I totally agree that there's a risk of abdicating responsibility and we don't want other [00:43:00] agencies to abdicate responsibility. How you get around that is you have a really strong plan that has accountability ascribed to those other departments. But you recognise and support them, delivering on by having a centre of expertise and a point of connection to our communities that our communities can push for pressure and change across the ministries from one entry point rather than having to deal with so many [00:43:30] agencies and different people. And we see this in health. One of the reasons at the moment that that we haven't made more progress around, um, gender affirming health care even though the budget money was put there was that there have been so much staff turnover in that team that they haven't been able to deliver it. If you'd had a centre of expertise, there would have been people to be able to fill in that gap and provide the support around it to keep progress happening. We have a cross [00:44:00] party group of politicians who are not ministers at the moment, includes national and includes labour, and it includes the greens and we are the ones who are talking to the ministers and asking them, What have you done? What's happened? This is what we're hearing from the communities. We have to fit that in amongst all of our other work and they're not accountable to us. They are accountable to their ministers. The ministers are what drive [00:44:30] change are the people who drive change not a lovely, very well meaning and, um, intentional group of MP S. So this is my belief when I'm so deeply frustrated at Our lack of progress is we've got to try something else and it requires intentional focus. And that is what this proposal is meant to address. Thank you, everyone. Um, the next question is, uh, with the ever [00:45:00] growing number of anti trans organisations. What is your political party prepared to do for the trans community to create protections and support to allow us to thrive? I always find it bizarre that these anti trans groups use freedom of speech. Like somehow freedom of speech is an excuse for them to just be an asshole to everyone. Freedom of speech does not mean we have to listen to you saying hateful stuff. It does not mean that public venues are obligated to give it to you. And it does not mean that you go crying [00:45:30] to the act party and they give you Parliament for free. Or at least that should. So there is a bill that has gone before Parliament. So the first thing I want to acknowledge is that I'm a cisgender male. I do not know for certain what it's like to be a member of the trans community. I only know from conversations with my friends. What I do know is that there's a bill that's been before Parliament. That bill was about being able to change the gender on your birth certificate by statutory [00:46:00] declaration. And that bill has been held up by one of these anti trans groups, the same one who are friends with David Seymour, and that's not OK that Bill needs to go through. It needs to pass to make it easier for these people to be able to engage in our society with who they are. So the The day after my candidacy got announced as a member of the Labour [00:46:30] Party, Uh um, last month I got an email from an anti trans group and the the gloss of my fun celebration was was worn off after that. And, um, Pete, this anti trans groups that write to me get a very short answer from me, which is that I, um, stand for trans people to be included in all parts of our society. And there's no engaging with all these endless little arguments, um, about XY and Z. I think, um, uh, Labour also supports [00:47:00] the, um uh, birth deaths and marriages bill that would allow trans people to, um, uh, uh choose their gender on their official documents. Um, and the, uh um, you would have heard, uh, Labour MP. Um uh, Lewis Wall and the media, just in the last week, supporting the right for trans women to play rugby, uh, as well, um, in a just she [00:47:30] did, didn't she? I'm pretty sure she did. To. For trans women to be included in the in the world, um, to be able to play by their identified gender and and rugby II, I Sorry, I can't hear you. But, I, I would be happy to have a conversation with you afterwards to the the the Fusion. Pretty mixed. Thank you. Thank you for that. I think the, um the point. Um I would There's another point I'd like to make about trans rights. Which, [00:48:00] um, I think, uh, goes back to an issue that was raised by the first transgender MP Georgina Baer, who, um, was a labour MP, which was, uh, back. Um, in 2004, we, um uh we about to, um, try and produce legislation to include, um uh, uh as a prohibited grounds for discrimination gender identity and the Human Rights Act. And at that time, the advice that the Human Rights Commission gave [00:48:30] us was that that was unnecessary because it could be included under sexual identity. Uh, and and therefore we didn't need to change the Human Rights Act. I think that, um it is apparent to us in labour that, uh, times have moved on and there are these acute issues that's evident in the question of anti trans groups. That means we need to reconsider that option. Uh, and that's an area which we are currently working on. [00:49:00] I'll keep my answer pretty simple. Uh, to this one. I start from the position that trans rights are human rights. Trans women are women, trans men are men, and the law should treat all of those groups with the rights that they deserve. And we should, as lawmakers strive to ensure that they have a quality of opportunity, a quality of access to services, and that where their rights are transgressed upon that the people perpetrating that, uh, face the full force of the law. [00:49:30] Yeah, I've had my own unfortunate run-ins with, um some of these groups, and I was very involved in the abortion law reform. Um, campaign and I wrote an article where I referred to pregnant people and I. I expected the, um, uh, blowback from anti abortion people. But I was actually really shocked at the, um the like wall [00:50:00] of hate I got from people who I am told I'm not allowed to call tips, but, uh, So I experienced my first ever Twitter pile on and was bombarded with graphic images and had to anyway, very a very small number of very motivated people really obsessed with what other people keep in their pants are are [00:50:30] just really making life very difficult for for a lot of people and screw them. Don't vote for me. I don't want you. Um, So what I'm saying is, uh, protections for, uh, for transgender and non-binary people are incredibly important. Um, Top has a policy for having a written constitution. We think it's probably gonna take, um, maybe 20 years for us to have [00:51:00] all the discussions that will go into it. But I'm very confident that at the end of the day, protections for all genders will make it into a constitution for a um I also think there are a few things like really concrete things we can do for transgender and non-binary people. I think that the stats, New Zealand consultation at the moment, if you haven't seen it about how to record data on gender, I think it was really great. I think they handled it. Really? Um, really Well. And if you haven't submitted, um, please, [00:51:30] please go and do that. Um, and the other thing I think that would make a real difference is, uh, you know, I have two little girls, and so much of their lives is so gendered whether we want it to be or not. And I just see no reason why we have to force small Children into two boxes constantly there, their school uniforms, [00:52:00] their their toilets, their clothing, their toys. You know, there is just no, they Is that for me? Sorry. Um, so enough of that. Enough of that. We only need two boxes for everything I believe. Um, so, yeah, it's It's been pretty ugly. Right? Um, and I I loved Troy's [00:52:30] intro. Um, so just Yeah, um, in terms of specific policies and things for the greens that we, um we've been on this journey for a really long time in terms of trying to, um, progress the rights. Um, because of the trans and non-binary people, it's over a decade ago that the Human Rights Commission wrote their report to be who I am that outlined the really unacceptable and, you [00:53:00] know, gut wrenching levels of discrimination that are experienced by trans and non-binary people in this country. And we haven't seen enough action. Um, and that's why we accepted the petition. Um, that led to the proposed change around the birth deaths and marriages and why we received the petition to try and push for change around, um, to access to health care. Um, the next steps is we clearly need the change [00:53:30] around birth dec and marriages with the amendments, um, that are needed to, um, actually fix it because the, um suggested amendments at the moment aren't right for intersex people, and that has to get fixed. Um, and we also need to ensure that it works for, um and that we're putting the right provisions in for migrants who are coming in to be able to change their identity documents to be safe in their communities because that's a real problem at the moment. [00:54:00] We also need to change the Human Rights Act. Um, because the Crown law advice is just not working in terms of reality, and it needs to be around gender, identity, gender expression and sex characteristics and that they need to be prohibited grounds of discrimination and make that just super clear so that we all know. And we need to amend our hate speech legislation to ensure that it is covering our communities because [00:54:30] the existence of diversity cannot and should not be argued with. And this is also a argument because existed well before colonisation, and these really discriminatory laws that sought to keep people in boxes and locked down were brought in by the colonial regime, [00:55:00] James.
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