Act MP switches sides to vote for civil unions

In a surprise move, Act MP Deborah Coddington switched sides to vote in favour of civil unions yesterday, after lobbying from her teenage daughter.

Ms Coddington last week described the bill as "just the Labour Government vote-buying, we're-nice-to-gays garbage".

At the same time National MP Brian Connell, a vociferous bill opponent who said it improperly endorsed gay parenting, came under fire from his lesbian sister-in-law.

Erin Kennedy, Mr Connell's wife's sister, co-parents three children and said contrary to his disappointing assertions "my children are in as good a position family-wise as his children are".

Several MPs have recently disclosed that having gay members of their family has impacted on their decision to vote for the bill.

But Mr Connell - who labelled the measure a "gay recruitment drive" - said yesterday this had not swayed him and his mind was made up.

Labour Cabinet minister Paul Swain also revealed yesterday why he decided last week to change his "no" vote to one in support, explaining that he was opposed to gay marriage but now accepted the bill didn't legitimise that.

New Zealand First's Ron Mark appears to be the only MP still undecided about his final vote.

He has supported it until now but his party was late last night due to promote a referendum on the issue instead. He refused to say how he would vote if it failed.

Ms Coddington said: "I still stand by the reasons why I voted against it. I would have preferred to have a bill that allowed gay people to get married the same way as heterosexual people. I was taking an all or nothing approach.

"But my youngest daughter, who is 19 and a first-time voter next year, told me that she got an enormous amount of flak when I said in the Herald I was voting against it.

"She flats with gay people and they realised that while this isn't perfect, this is as much as they will get at the moment.

"She said while people like me are free to get married or not, they can't chose to get civil unionised at the moment, and I realised it's really a young person's issue, it's not really about old biddies like me.

"I decided I would vote in favour even if it's not perfect."

Mr Connell said he had had a robust relationship with Ms Kennedy for 20 years and the pair would continue to disagree on some issues.

"We get on pretty well underneath it all.

"She's a good person and a good mother, but do I think that's better than having two natural parents loving a child and bringing it up? I don't think it's good."

He said he did not want children of gay parents to suffer from the debate but was trying to cut the practice "off at the pass".

"I don't agree with structuring gay families as mainstream, but we should treat the ones we have with respect and dignity."

Asked if he worried about the impact of the debate on children such as Ms Kennedy's, he said the better question was how gay parents explained why their family was different.

"I think it's a very difficult position to put kids in."

Ms Kennedy said she was very disappointed in a lot of MPs' stances.

"I had thought New Zealand was a far more tolerant society than it obviously is. If children suffer because they come from a different family it is because they are being discriminated against.

"In terms of Brian's comments on my family, I think most gay parents would take care not to put their children in a school where there's likely to be discrimination.

"Having said that I don't think it's any more embarrassing for a child to say they have gay parents, than to say they have Tory parents, really."

She said she hadn't bothered to lobby Mr Connell.

"If I was going to lobby anyone I would lobby someone who I thought might have changed their opinion with some reasonable argument."

CHANGE OF MIND

Coddington last Thursday:

* 'This is just the Labour Government vote-buying, we're-nice-to-gays garbage'

Yesterday

* 'I decided I would vote in favour even if it's not perfect.'