An ex-MP who voted against equality and anti-discrimination measures for LGBT people at every opportunity while he was in parliament in the 1990s was not formally interviewed before being appointed to the Human Rights Review Tribunal last December, it has emerged. Human wrongs?: Ex-National MP Brian Neeson Ex-National MP Brian Neeson and four others were appointed to the tribunal by Justice Minister Simon Power without an interview, going against the advice of the Tribunal's chairperson, reports the Christchurch Press. Neeson voted to allow employers to discriminate on the basis of gender, and then voted to exclude sexual orientation from the 1993 Human Rights Bill, which became the Human Rights Act. He then voted to exclude AIDS and HIV from the definition of 'physical health' in the prohibited ground of discrimination, to allow health professionals and teachers to be sacked for being gay, and to allow anti-gay discrimination to continue in the armed forces. His voting history was highlighted by respected left-wing blog No Right Turn, with blogger Idiot/Savant describing Neeson as an "outright bigot." The Press asked Neeson about his anti-gay voting record: "He said it was 'not quite right' that he had voted against protections for gay people. He would not elaborate further," reports the paper. Twenty people from around New Zealand sit on the Human Rights Review Tribunal, and are called up every few weeks to sit in court and hear cases of human rights abuse. The West Coast's much-loved 'Tranny Granny' Jacquie Grant has been on the Tribunal since 2004.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 23rd February 2010 - 11:32am