Greens' Rainbow pair Jan Logie and Kevin Hague Rainbow MPs Kevin Hague and Jan Logie look assured of safe returns to Parliament based on their respective rankings on the Green Party’s draft list. Hague is ranked third behind co-leaders Metiria Turei and Russel Norman, while Logie is ranked ninth. They are the same positions the pair held heading into the 2011 election.Based on polling, both MPs should retain their seats in Parliament. In his second Parliamentary term, Hague has remained a strong glbti advocate, speaking out on issues like the Pilgrim Planet gay bed ban and rebutting misinformation campaigns on issues such as sex education and marriage and adoption equality. He was a proud supporter of Labour MP Louisa Wall as she progressed her marriage equality bill and sat on the select committee which heard arguments on it, and described glbti community members and supporters who made submissions “brave, honest and generous”. Last year Hague was awarded Life Membership of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, of which he was an Executive Director In Jan Logie’s first term as an MP, she hit the ground running, emerging as a strong voice for glbti people all over the world who are living amidst hatred and discrimination. She joined Labour’s Louisa Wall in a trip to Uganda where the pair successfully pushed for a stand against the nation’s then-pending homophobic law at the Inter-Parliamentary Union. At home she has consistently campaigned for transgender rights and helped convince Corrections to change its policy, and start housing transgender women in female prisons. More recently, Logie’s motion noting Russia’s anti-gay law was unanimously backed by Parliament. It also called for the Government to urge other governments and the Winter Olympics Organising Committee to protect the rights of all people in Russia, regardless of their sexual orientation. Both MPs were honoured by GayNZ.com in 2012’s special political edition of the New Year’s Heroes list.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 18th March 2014 - 8:40am