Labour MP Louisa Wall's marriage equality member's bill is due to have its third reading today.
If as expected it's passed, Ms Wall said she will owe a sizeable debt of gratitude to rural areas such as Wairarapa which have supported the bill in large numbers.
"It was my pleasure to come to a place like the Wairarapa, which is seen as a rural area, and engage with local people," she said. "I really enjoyed the opportunity to go outside Auckland and I enjoyed in particular the discussions which took place."
Ms Wall came to Masterton for a meeting in the Town Hall last year and she said despite the decision by MP for Wairarapa John Hayes not to attend it was a great platform for a very progressive debate and discussion. She said the absence of Mr Hayes was "a bit strange". "I think he had other motivations in the community and he chose not to participate," she said.
The Auckland-based representative said that she believed the process and the campaign had been largely transparent and successful, however, she was disappointed by one or two elements of the "no" campaign. "I think that the process has enabled everyone to have their say," she said. "The fact that some people used incest, polygamy and paedophilia and tried to convince others that gay marriage could open the way for these crimes was wrong. Saying that allowing gay couples to marry was a slippery slope; those things were very problematic and I found it highly offensive."
