Christopher Finlayson National’s openly gay MP Chris Finlayson retains a strong place on the party list. He’s been ranked 8th ahead of the election, one place higher than in 2011. The senior cabinet minister is the Attorney General, Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister. Finlayson is Catholic and while openly-gay, he has also stated he is celibate. He voted against marriage equality. Gay-friendly Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye is ranked 19th, while “big gay rainbow” speech-maker Maurice Williamson has dropped from 19th to 35th in a year where he resigned his ministerial portfolios over dealings with businessman Donghua Liu. Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe, who unsuccessfully tried to alter the marriage equality legislation so Christian business owners could discriminate against gay people, has risen from 50th to 28th on the National list.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 27th July 2014 - 12:11pm