Fri 3 Mar 2017 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Labour MP Annette King, who this week announced she will retire from Parliament at the end of the current term, is one of only three remaining sitting MPs who voted for Homosexual Law reform in 1986. King joined the Labour party in 1972 and was elected to represent Horowhenua in the 1984 snap election which saw a rush of new, socially liberal Labour MPs including Richard Northey, Trevor Mallard, Jim Anderton, Margaret Austin and Judy Keall join the 1981 intake which included the likes of Fran Wilde, Margaret Shields, Helen Clark, Phil Goff and Michael Cullen. King campaigned strongly for the law change which passed in July 1986, removing from gay and bisexual men the fear of being arrested or psychiatrically treated if found to be having sexual intimacy with another man. She rose through the Labour ranks to become at various times Minister of Police, Health, Transport and Justice and to serve several terms as the party's deputy leader. Ironically, she is a cousin to gay National MP Chris Finlayson, with whom she has come to verbal blows in Parliament. The only two other currently sitting MPs who were in Parliament in 1986 and voted for Homosexual Law reform are Trevor Mallard and Peter Dunne. It is not yet clear what their plans are for the forthcoming general election.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 3rd March 2017 - 12:12am