Could these be the gay and lesbian faces of Parliament? (Maryan Street, Charles Chauvel, Grant Robertson, Louisa Wall, Jordan Carter, Kevin Hague, Jan Logie, Chris Finlayson and Claudette Hauiti) 7.00PM: Parliament could have as many as nine openly-gay MPs for the 2011 term, depending on a number of results tonight. Labour will continue to boast the highest number of rainbow representatives, with Maryan Street at seventh on her party list basically guaranteed a seat if her Nelson rival Nick Smith keeps his hold on the blue electorate. Charles Chauvel's battle with UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne is expected to be a close one, however even if Chauvel is not victorious his 11th placing on the Labour list also has him in safe territory. Grant Robertson, who is 14th on the Labour list, is expected to retain his Wellington Central seat. Another sitting MP Louisa Wall needs to win the safe seat of Manurewa to return to Parliament. Labour's out-MP ranks could swell to five, with Wellington-based candidate Jordan Carter ranked 40th on the list, who could enter Parliament should Labour gain enough party votes, and if electorate candidates higher than him in the food chain win their seats. In the Green Party, third-ranked Kevin Hague is set to reclaim his seat on the strength of the Green party vote, while 9th ranked Jan Logie is likely to join him in Parliament. National's Christopher Finlayson is about the closest you can get to a sure thing in an election, as he is ranked ninth on his party's list. Mangere candidate Claudette Hauiti also has a chance of squeaking in, should National claim a huge percentage of the party vote, and if the results spark a number of MMP's idiosyncrasies. Aside from these nine there are another seven out candidates who have been in contact with our newsroom ahead of the election. They are UnitedFuture's North Shore candidate Damian Light, who is ranked 12th on his party list, Labour's Hunua candidate Richard Hills who is ranked 50th on the party list, the Greens' Taranaki-King County candidate Robert Moore, Rangitikei independent Grant Seton, Alliance's Wellington Central candidate Kelly Buchanan, Dunedin North's ACT candidate Guy McCallum and the Greens' Clutha-Southland candidate Rachael Goldsmith. Another battle of interest to the glbti community tonight is the close-fought struggle between gay-friendly pair Jacinda Ardern and Nikki Kaye in Auckland Central. Pundits will also be watching whether Peter Dunne can bring UnitedFuture back into Parliament, Winston Peters can return New Zealand First to power with enough party vote, or Colin Craig can win Rodney and bring his Conservative Party into power. Throught this evening GayNZ.com Daily News will bring you blow by blow coverage of the night's fortunes for glbt candidates and those who may affect our lives and futures.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 26th November 2011 - 4:51pm