Shaneel Lal: Chris Hipkins needs to prove he is a queer ally through action, not acting

The online abuse towards queer, particularly transgender New Zealanders, rose to genocidal levels after Parker’s visit, says Shaneel Lal. Photo / Dean Purcell

OPINION

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins has ruled out working with New Zealand First and Winston Peters to form the next government.

In the plethora of Hipkins’ reasons was a reference to Peters’ policy to ban transgender women from women’s toilets. Hipkins claimed NZ First has become “a party more interested in toilets than the issues that really matter”, which, in my opinion, they have.

It is powerful when the leader of the biggest political party says, “Whether you’re Māori, Pasifika, Pākehā, gay, straight, born here, migrated here, a man, a woman, trans, young, old or different in your own way, I am in it for you.”

It is unfortunate he has to, but powerful because, despite the backlash standing by marginalised communities courts, Hipkins did it anyway.

Hipkins hasn’t been spineless until now, and I hope he doesn’t stop. Hipkins’ staunch stance against conservatism demonstrates that he is capable of taking a stand for the underdog. Hipkins’ denunciation of attacks on marginalised communities brings comfort to the many who have felt afraid after Act leader David Seymour’s fantasy about sending Guy Fawkes into the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and Peters’ penis patrol.

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins at Labour's 2023 Campaign Launch at the Aotea Centre in Auckland. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

But Hipkins will need to do more than talk if he wants to convince queers that he and the Labour Party under his leadership are allies.

Labour is in a precarious position with the queer community after earlier this year the then-Minister of Immigration, Michael Wood, said the visit of anti-trans activist Posie Parker did not meet the criteria for intervention.

The online abuse towards queer, particularly transgender New Zealanders, rose to “genocidal” levels after Parker’s visit.

Hipkins needs to prove he is an ally through action, not acting.

Two crucial changes are pending: the Law Commission’s hate speech review and an anti-discrimination bill.

Under Hipkins’ leadership, the Labour Party has washed their hands of passing the hate speech legislation, which sought to protect queer people from hate speech that incites violence.

Hipkins has not recommitted Labour to protecting queer people from hate speech.

In 2021 a court found Christian pastor Logan Robertson saying, “My view on homo marriage is the Bible never mentions it, so I’m not against them getting married … As long as a bullet goes through their head the moment they kiss,” is not covered by present hate speech laws.

Further, Labour has yet to publicly support a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression and variations of sex characteristics under the Human Rights Act.

In his speech, Hipkins claimed National, Act and NZ First “are focused on dividing New Zealand. They are a coalition of cuts and chaos that would not be able to get stuff done.”

I challenge Hipkins to commit to getting legislative protection for the queer community done. On the one hand, we have Peters, who has committed to reversing transgender rights. On the other hand, Hipkins claims to be an ally to queer people but won’t commit to legislative protections for us.

Why would queer people vote Hipkins back into power if he won’t use his power to ensure queer people are protected from discrimination and hate speech? Is Hipkins’ offer for us that if he is in power, he will not reverse our rights as Peters would?

I don’t want to pick the lesser evil. I want a leader ready to ensure queer folk thrive in Aotearoa. If Hipkins will use the queer community in his campaign, he must put a policy where his mouth is.

Shaneel Shavneel Lal (they/them) was instrumental in the bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. They are a law and psychology student, model and influencer.