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Foreign Minister urged to close "unfair" loophole

Wed 28 Nov 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback

Duane McWaine can't practice in New Zealand, because he is gay. A loophole which means the partner of gay US Ambassador David Huebner can’t work in New Zealand could be changed “at the strike of a pen,” and Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully is being urged to take action. As GayNZ.com blogger Craig Hoyle found out when he had an auction-won dinner with the couple at their Wellington residence, Huebner’s partner Duane McWaine can’t practice in his specialist field of psychology in New Zealand. “When we asked why that was, David said it was because he was gay,” Hoyle has blogged. “We all laughed. We then felt bad for laughing as it turned out the Ambassador wasn’t joking. Under New Zealand law there is provision for the spouses of diplomats to seek employment, so the wives of previous US ambassadors have been able to get jobs. “However the law only provides for married couples, meaning de facto and/or same-sex partners are automatically excluded. Such a backward loophole,” Hoyle adds. McWaine is a Princeton graduate, who has taught at UCLA’s Medical School and served as medical director of the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, while maintaining a private practice. His Twitter profile reads: "Supporting the diplomatic life, missing patients and students." Labour’s Justice spokesman Charles Chauvel, who is himself gay, says Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully could have the loophole changed ‘at the strike of a pen’. “He should do so. It's an unfair policy, and not one that applies in reverse as I understand it to kiwi diplomats in the US, thanks to policy changes put in place by Hillary Clinton as President Obama's Secretary of State,” Chauvel says. “It's time for a change.” You can discuss this gay New Zealand community news story on the GayNZ.com Forum here    

Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff

First published: Wednesday, 28th November 2012 - 12:31pm

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