Labour’s spokesperson for Rainbow Issues, Shanan Halbert, says it’s time for us to unite and stand up to a government that doesn’t understand the needs of rainbow communities.
I reflect often on the words of Georgina Beyer, who said it best when she said, “People call it courage and bravery. I just call it standing up for what I think is right.” That’s what the Rainbow community is doing – standing up for what’s right.
We have a proud history of fighting for our freedom to be who we are, and Labour has a long history of joining this fight – from Homosexual Law Reform, Civil Unions, and Marriage Equality to banning harmful conversion practices and making it easier for people to identify as who they are on their official documents, and so much more.
But under the current Coalition Government, I know many Rainbow whānau are concerned that the equality that generations of our community have fought for is at risk. Over the past year, we have lost many of the vocal allies we once had, including in the National Party, as they bow to the political agenda of minor coalition parties looking for votes.
The Minister of Sport and Recreation at the time, Chris Bishop, asked Sport New Zealand to review and update its guidelines for the participation of transgender people in community sport.
The Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, is removing the Relationship and Sexuality Education guidelines from schools at the end of Term One, and she has still not provided any certainty about what they will be replaced with.
The Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, has failed to meet with OutLine, a rainbow mental health support service that’s been a crucial lifeline to many young rainbow people who have been unable to get government funding. Now, OutLine faces the daunting risk of closure, creating a vacuum in support, and the Minister is choosing to turn a blind eye.
Most recently, the Government has instructed the Ministry of Health to conduct public consultation on puberty blockers – a process that could ultimately restrict access to gender-affirming care for trans and non-binary rangatahi. Decisions about using puberty blockers should be between expert clinicians and the young people seeking care. All New Zealanders have a right to healthcare that supports their wellbeing and identity, but the Coalition Government’s actions could compromise this.
This Government is out of touch with the needs of our Rainbow community and their whānau. They are choosing to make changes that could take the progress our community has achieved backwards.
Now is the time to increase support for the Rainbow community instead of creating further barriers and making people’s lives harder. When the rights of our people are under threat, we must unite and resist the Government’s attack on us like we always have. And we must do it together. Tātou katoa – all of us.
Labour is committed to creating an Aotearoa where our Rainbow community is free to be who they are. We stand on the shoulders of rainbow giants like Georgina Beyer, Tim Barnett, Louisa Wall, Chris Carter, and Grant Robertson and relentless allies like Fran Wilde.
Our past struggles and victories tell us that we can get through this together. Pride is a celebration; it’s a resistance against those who choose to hate. Our tamariki and mokopuna need us to stand up for them now – and stand up together.
Kia kaha tātou katoa. Happy Pride.
Fill out the survey and let me know what progress you want to see most for our community.
Authorised by Shanan Halbert, MP Parliament Buildings, Wellington, funded by Parliamentary Services.
