61-year-old West Coast foster mum Jacquie Grant, affectionately known as the "tranny granny", has been appointed by the Minister of Justice to sit on the Human Rights Tribunal. She says its an honour and a compliment to New Zealand's GLBT community that she has been selected. "I think New Zealand has had an enviable record on Human rights over the last 20 years, with most of the gains being over the last five or six years," she told GayNZ.com. "We have been lucky to have had a government that has had the courage of their convictions, however we should not be complacent as I see in the future we will have to fight hard to maintain and keep some of those gains." Grant has fostered over sixty children, and has numerous grandchildren. She moved to New Zealand in 1964, fleeing the Australian police who had previously imprisoned her for dressing in women's clothes.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 12th November 2004 - 12:00pm