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Summary: Supporters Desperate Over Bill—mr Lee (Press, 28 September 1985)
On 28 September 1985, tensions surrounding the Homosexual Law Reform Bill were escalating, particularly concerning a petition against it. Mr Graeme Lee, a National Party member from Hauraki and a promoter of the anti-reform petition, stated that attempts by supporters of the bill to undermine the petition were intensifying. He commented on the predictability of these "frantic and frenetic activities," asserting that unless the petition could be discredited, proponents of the law reform could not claim it had public backing. Lee challenged the opponents to produce a counter-petition that demonstrated greater support, emphasising that a pro-reform petition had been circulating and now was the time for its advocates to present their findings. He pointed out that there had been excessive criticism of the anti-reform petition, along with bold assertions unsupported by evidence. He specifically derided an investigation led by Ms Fran Wilde, a Labour MP who introduced the reform legislation, into the validity of signatures on the petition. He argued that any claims made about the petition's authenticity would require a full examination of all signatures, a task he estimated would take a team working full-time nearly two years to complete. Lee also mentioned hearing about a University of Waikato study related to the petition, though he lacked details. He noted that some individuals who signed the petition were not on the electoral rolls, including secondary school students and those who became eligible to vote since the rolls had last been updated 18 months prior. He argued that electoral rolls quickly become outdated. Lee dismissed concerns regarding illegible signatures as overly simplistic, asserting that many people have difficult-to-read signatures, himself included. He clarified that while petition organisers encouraged signatories to print their names alongside their signatures, the petition was valid with just a signature and address. He acknowledged that errors existed in the signatures, including the notable case of a "B. Bardot," which had been cited as dubious, but he highlighted that the organisers had already removed 500 questionable names from the petition. Some sheets had been photocopied and eliminated as invalid. Lee expressed his belief that the disparaging remarks about the integrity of petition signers by proponents of the bill were damaging to the proponents' credibility, as many New Zealanders had signed the petition in good faith.
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