Tariana Turia Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia will retire from Parliament on a much more positive note when it comes to GLBT issues, where she appears to have evolved over time. The Te Tai Haururu MP plans to stand down at the 2014 election to spend more time with her family. One comment for which she will be remembered by some in the GLBT community is an incorrect one she made in 2007, that the New Zealand AIDS Foundation was neglecting Maori living with HIV "in favour of white gay men," after someone falsely advised her this was the case. While Turia voted against civil unions, this year it was clear she'd had a change of heart when she voted for the first reading of the marriage equality bill, saying: "So long as children have the best parents that they can have who value them and love them, then that's the most important thing, rather than their sexuality." Someone who is being touted as a possible replacement for Turia, in both her electorate and as Maori Party co-leader, is former MP Rahui Katene, a Mormon, who is undecided on the issue of marriage equality. She has said that while she would consider voting in favour of it, she thinks civil unions may be enough.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 14th December 2012 - 8:29pm