A cross-party working group of parliamentarians has been formed " to provide education, leadership and legislative progress on LGBTI rights." MPs wearing pink at Parliament today The group was initiated by Green Party MP Jan Logie and includes twelve members from National, Labour, NZ First, Act and the Greens. Several of the group's members have issued statements in support of advancing legislative changes to address the inequalities and denigration experienced by many glbti people. “A recent Westpac survey found discrimination is still rife in our workplaces as well, and an international survey has found disturbingly high levels of homophobia in sports in NZ. I’m proud to be working towards a solution to these shameful situations,” says National MP, Paul Foster-Bell. “Last year a New Zealand group reported to the UN that there remain a number of barriers to the realisation of LGBTI rights in NZ. I think it’s important for MPs and Parliament to consider those concerns,” says NZ First MP Denis O’Rourke. And Act Party Leader David Seymour says “We believe in the equality of all human beings and we still have legislative and policy work to do to realise those rights for LGBTI people.” “We are hoping others will see the importance of the work we are tackling and want to join us,” says Ms Logie. "One the highlights of the last Parliament term was MPs coming together to pass Louisa Wall’s Marriage Equality Act." Wall is another of the MPs who have joined the cross-party working group. "We hope to create more opportunities for that kind of successful collaboration,” Logie says, “and to echo the theme of Pink Shirt Day today, we’re going to Speak up. Stand together. Stop bullying.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 22nd May 2015 - 2:52pm