Many Pressured Into Signing Petition — M.P. (Press, 9 May 1985)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: Many Pressured Into Signing Petition — M.P. (Press, 9 May 1985)
On 9 May 1985, Fran Wilde, the member of Parliament for Wellington Central and proponent of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill, raised concerns regarding reports of pressure applied to individuals throughout New Zealand to sign a petition against the legislation. During an interview on Radio New Zealand’s "Morning Report," Wilde cited a letter from a worker at the Marsden Point Refinery expansion site, which drew attention to the issue of coercion. She commented that this was just one instance among numerous allegations she had received about the campaign opposing the bill. Wilde revealed that individuals were being pressured in various environments to sign the petition, including workplaces, schools, and hospitals. She mentioned a specific report indicating that an individual in a supervisory role allegedly communicated a direct threat to workers: those who failed to sign the petition would be transferred to a different area of the project with reduced pay. Wilde stated, “Frankly, it seems to me that the whole thing has got completely out of hand,” expressing her alarm at the extent of the reported coercion. In response to these claims, Sir Peter Tait, one of the organisers of the petition, defended the integrity of the signature collection process. He asserted that canvassers were instructed to respect individuals' wishes when approached for signatures, and he emphasised that harassment was not tolerated. Tait acknowledged that with over half a million signatures gathered, there would likely be a small number of instances of misconduct, but he insisted that he had not received any complaints regarding harassment. He indicated that although the petitioners lacked the authority to prosecute individuals for coercion, they were committed to discarding any signatures that were obtained under duress. The controversy surrounding the petition highlighted the broader social tensions regarding the proposed Homosexual Law Reform Bill, reflecting a deeply divided opinion within New Zealand at the time.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand