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Kia ora, my name is Kevin Honui. I'm a Deputy Chair of Te Whanau Whanau Trust, a community organisation for Takatapui. Uh, based in Wellington, but, uh, involved with, uh, national politics involving Takatāpui. Perhaps I can begin my little conversation talking about the Rainbow Room here, first of all. And, in Parliament, uh, I was here at the opening of that room, and for me [00:00:30] it signalled a.. Further step in the legitimization, if you like, of, of, uh, same sex, uh, people. Homosexuals, lesbians, gay, bisexuals, trans, intersex, and all variations. To me, it was another legitimate step by society in terms of recognizing, uh, sexuality and gender in all its different [00:01:00] forms. And I think that the, uh, it expressed the hope in me that we were moving forward as a society. And I see that has happened in the almost ten years that this room has been, uh, has been open. The progress that has been made in terms of our younger generations, I think, has really, [00:01:30] um, allowed the space. for that journey to continue, um, particularly for our younger generations. And also, it's a place of pride, I believe, for the older generations in knowing that that space was created, uh, and this room is one of those spaces that reflects, reflects that. So speaking as, uh, from a Takatāpui perspective, And [00:02:00] I believe that the, uh, where we are today has, has moved to the point where we are not dealing with single issue, uh, matters such as either being gay or being lesbian or being bisexual. I believe that, um, we are, from a Takatāpui perspective, looking more at the collective. Um, role [00:02:30] that we have and our association and connection, uh, with our Māori society. So, in recent times we have been, uh, I have heard the terms, you know, tōku reo, tōku oho, oho, which is a reflection that our voice is our awakening, uh, and that means that, um, our voice. is part of [00:03:00] the wider collective voice of Māori. So, if we as Takatāpui, uh, are not well, then Māori is not well. If Māori are not well, then we as Takatāpui are not well. So, two are indivisible. And to me, that also shows our connection to our Pasifika whānau. Um, because when they talk about their, the issues that concern them, from the many islands across the [00:03:30] Pacific, And even across to, uh, when we think of Australia as being part of that whole Oceania complex, they are talking in a way about their connection to their cultures and that they are one and the same. So the, for me, from a Takatāpui perspective, uh, my voice, being a Takatāpui voice, is a Māori voice, and a Māori voice is a Takatāpui voice. So, [00:04:00] again, I emphasize the, the two are absolutely connected and one does not go without the other. So, the Rainbow Room and the progress that has been made since it was opened, I think, reflects the fact that, uh, we have moved towards the space where LGBTI rights, or rainbow rights. are human rights, not just gay rights. There's been [00:04:30] rights and so forth, but they're human rights. And I think that's where I believe, uh, from a cultural perspective, we fit in, uh, much better under that, uh, mantra than to look at it just as sexuality and gender and so forth. In fact, we're part of our, our culture. And the culture is part of us, irrespective of how our sexuality or gender, [00:05:00] or how we present ourselves physically in terms of sexual characteristics. However that's played out, it doesn't matter. Um, because without our culture, we are, we are almost like floating in the sea without any things to anchor onto. So that's how I see. the progress that's been made and the direction that we are going in terms of, uh, LGBTI rights or [00:05:30] human rights at the end of the day, um, with regards to New Zealand and this country.
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