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Mayor expands on representation pledge

Wed 12 Feb 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News

Len Brown first announced the move at the Big Gay Out on Sunday As Auckland Pride Festival is in full swing, Mayor Len Brown is vowing to investigate how Auckland’s glbti community can be given greater visibility and better representation at Auckland Council. Brown announced at the Big Gay Out on Sunday he is looking at setting up an lgbti advisory group. He's today told GayNZ.com Daily News: “I am proud that the Pride Festival is back for a second year with the absolute support and financial backing of Auckland Council, and that Big Gay Out has returned for another year. "These are absolutely iconic Auckland events that sit proudly alongside Pasifika, Diwali, Lantern Festival and Matariki,” he says. “This community has achieved much in recent times, not least of all marriage equality, and we should celebrate those achievements.” However Brown says there is still much to do before all Aucklanders enjoy full equality, saying the challenges for Auckland and New Zealand are still "many and varied". “To that end, I am going work with councillors to investigate how we can do a better job representing this community and giving it more visibility at Auckland Council. Other significant sections of the Auckland community are represented by advisory panels and groups and I want to work with the community to investigate the benefits of such structures for them,” he says. “I want to recognise the work already being done by Auckland Council’s Rainbow Door working group in strengthening the relationship between the council and the community, but I think there is more we can and should be doing and I want to talk to the community and Rainbow Door about how we can best make that happen.”    

Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff

First published: Wednesday, 12th February 2014 - 11:30am

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