Tue 5 Apr 2011 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Louisa Wall (right) and Labour MP Maryan Street at the February Big Gay Out Louisa Wall will make an early return to Parliament. The openly-lesbian former Silver Fern and Black Fern will replace Darren Hughes, who has resigned following publicity over a police complaint laid by an 18-year-old man. Wall returns over the five long-standing former MPs above her on the list, who have decided against returning to Parliament as they have moved on with their lives. "It makes a lot of sense for Louisa Wall, a bright energetic young new candidate, selected already for Manurewa to fight the next election, to take the position up," Phil Goff told TVNZ's Breakfast this morning. Wall, 38, entered Parliament for a few months in 2008 to replace the retiring Ann Hartley, hitting headlines as the “first Maori lesbian MP”. Her stay in the halls of power should be longer this time around, as she has won the Labour nomination to contest the Manurewa seat, which is regarded as one of the party's safe electorates. Wall is incredibly passionate about young people and working with children and if she is elected in Manurewa in November working with youth in her electorate will be one of her priorities. In December she told GayNZ.com she is very aware of the plight of glbt youth in areas like South Auckland. "I actually think it should be a key performance indicator for principals,” she said. “That they should at least advertise the fact that there is support available. You shouldn't need a gay staff member in the school to push the issue. Because I do think there is a correlation between our high rates of youth suicide and just not having formal structures where young people can just talk about how they're feeling. "It should just be a standard thing, where we want all our kids to be who they are and encourage them to be themselves. Because if they're not themselves and are somebody else, it doesn't bode well for their future, because unless they can be secure in their own identities they're not going to be successful at school, they're not going to get the qualifications they need to build a business and employ people. It's cyclical." Wall "came out" publicly in 1998 when she was profiled in NZ Rugby magazine before the 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup and listed her then-partner's name. She's told GayNZ.com it's something that isn't difficult when you answer a question honestly, adding she has never hidden her sexuality or her partners. In December Wall celebrated her civil union with her long-term partner.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 5th April 2011 - 3:44pm