Being an openly-LGBTIQ+ legislator in New Zealand

In a blog post for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Caucus Co-Founder Louisa Wall MP looks back at the LGBT+ equality won in New Zealand and her experiences as an openly-LGBT parliamentarian.

To be an LGBTIQ+ Parliamentarian should be unremarkable. Yet when LGBTIQ+ people across the world continue to face violence and persecution, plus discrimination in areas such as employment, healthcare and sport, being an openly-LGBTIQ+ legislator stands out as a rare and remarkable accomplishment.

With so many LGBTIQ+ peoples feeling ostracised and unseen, representation and visibility is so important in our national Parliaments. It means LGBTIQ+ people can see somebody like them participating in the debates that determine their nation’s future.

In New Zealand, we’ve recently elected the highest proportion of LGBTIQ+ MPs in the world. Our Parliament is now the most inclusive ever, with 10% of our Members identifying as openly-LGBTIQ+, and more women, indigenous and Pasifika voices than ever before. New Zealanders can look to their national Parliament and feel like they are seen.

To be elected is one thing, but to be a good lawmaker is another - we must also represent our citizens’ concerns, their fears, their aspirations. We must advocate for laws that were it not for LGBTIQ+ voices, political parties would not have the courage to change.

I know what this can be like. Just over nine years ago, I introduced a Private Member’s Bill to Parliament that sought to bring marriage equality to New Zealand; marriage between two people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. My NZ Labour Party had made relationship equality a manifesto commitment and it was my responsibility as Chair of our Rainbow Caucus to draft a Bill and to lead this legislative debate. My Bill highlighted discrimination the government continued to perpetrate against the LGBTIQ+ community and its ongoing detrimental effects on LGBTIQ+ citizens. The legislation was endorsed on both sides of the political divide in favour of everyone expressing their love and creating a family.

Marriage equality became law in 2013 and was achieved by working across parties, finding common ground, and building political consensus based on principles of equality and non-discrimination. As New Zealand now looks to ban the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy, this lesson needs to be remembered.

This lesson also applies globally and is why I am a member and co-founder of the Global Equality Caucus, a network of elected representatives across all continents who support LGBTIQ+ equality. The Caucus links legislators and civil society advocates to share knowledge and experiences in fighting for change. This is particularly important given that 70 countries still criminalize homosexuality, over half of which are in our Commonwealth community.

New Zealand is further along the road to equality than other Commonwealth countries, and that means we’ve much to share about our decolonization experience. So long as discrimination persists and colonial laws continue to prejudice our LGBTIQ+ family across the Commonwealth, we must collectively fight for decriminalization and equal rights. On this International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia and Intersexphobia, I say to the global LGBTIQ+ community: Keep fighting, because change can come, and will come through our collective actions. We are never alone. Kia Kaha. Stay strong.

Louisa Wall MP (she/her/ia) is a Member of the New Zealand Parliament and was first elected to Parliament in 2008 and subsequently in 2011 and 2020.