Two of Parliament's openly gay MPs have been elected to prominent positions by their respective parties, with Labour's Tim Barnett announced as chief whip, and National's Chris Finlayson as Shadow Attorney-General. Barnett was one of the first openly gay men to be elected to Parliament, and is most famous for shepherding prostitution and civil union legislation. He says the role of whip – which involves organising MPs in Parliament – will be challenging. "Now is a great time to learn more about the workings of the system and to be in a very exciting position in which is going to be a fascinating three years of government," he told NZPA. Wellington barrister Finlayson was tipped by commentators before the election to be appointed as Attorney-General should National form a government. He says he's disappointed he won't be shadowing Labour deputy leader Michael Cullen, who stepped down from the role of Attorney-General in the Prime Minister's recent cabinet reshuffle. In a press statement, Finlayson described Cullen's record of law reform as "pitiful".
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 3rd November 2005 - 12:00pm