Self-proclaimed heterosexual John Tamihere has had a swipe at fellow Labour MP and Conservation Minister Chris Carter over his public stance on the Civil Union bill. Noting Carter's presence at an international whaling conference in Italy, Tamihere wrote in his weblog late last month (available on the Labour Party website), "Whaling? Isn't that what the conservation minister does over the Civil Unions Bill?" Tamihere did some wailing of his own earlier in the week, devoting an entire speech to the plight of the "red-blooded heterosexual male". Ironically, gay MP Tim Barnett agrees with him. "The straight male community has no word to describe itself, no range of organisations to act as their advocates or voices, no commonly perceived range of priority concerns. Unity and common identity is desperately difficult," says Barnett. If Tamihere's swipes continue, one feels sure that suggestions on how the "straight male community" can describe itself will be forthcoming.