Openly gay Matt Morris from Christchurch has announced he is standing for Christchurch City Council and his local community board in the Shirley-Papanui ward. “A lot more work needs to be done to engage with queer young people in this city,” he says. “A lot of great work is already happening, but the city needs to give more support to that.” In the past, Morris, 32, has been an interviewer on Plains FM's ‘Outwaves' programme on gay and lesbian issues, was the official Green Party spokesperson on rainbow issues, and is currently a founding Trustee of Christchurch's Queer-Friendly Alliance Trust. Morris first stood for Council in 2001 and was selected as the Green Party's candidate for Christchurch Central in 2002. “I have always been interested in politics and have worked hard for positive change in our communities. The 2002 election was a great experience for me because, being Christchurch Central, I got to stand alongside Tim Barnett. That involved a lot of important learning and was a real privilege. It also showed how well the Greens and Labour can get along,” Morris said. “Tim remains a friend and mentor to me, something I value even more since the passing of Rod Donald in 2005.” Morris has worked with a number of environmentally-minded and forward-thinking organisations, including the Organic Garden City Trust, the Christchurch Community Gardens Association, Organic Farm NZ, Sustainable Otautahi Christchurch, the Christchurch Environment Centre, and the Soil Ref: Christchurch 2021 (m)