Kevin Hague The Select Committee tasked with wading through the more than 20,000 submissions on marriage equality has had to limit the number of oral submissions it will hear. Green MP Kevin Hague is sitting on the Select Committee and says the number of submissions is likely to be a record - “but I’m not sure of that”. He says the Committee has therefore made the “hard decision” that it will not hear oral submissions from anyone whose written submission was some variant of a ‘form’ submission. “Even so, we somehow need to grapple with thousands of individuals and groups who wish to be heard. We will certainly be taking extra meeting days, but may also need to restrict oral submissions further to meet our report-back deadline of 28 February.” Oral submissions in favour have been heard from the Public Service Association, David Farrar, Rainbow Wellington and Bishop Richard Randerson. “We also heard a bunch of sincere but samey submissions against the Bill, all from church-based groups of various stripes,” Hague says. They have also included the comparison between equal marriage and apartheid made by former MP Gordon Copeland, which has been picked up by gay media across the globe. The next day for submissions will be next Thursday, when the Committee will sit from 9AM to 4PM.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 15th November 2012 - 10:05am