New Zealand is poised to set a new world record for LGBTQ+ parliamentary representation following Saturday’s general election. After a landslide victory for the left-leaning Labour party, LGBTQ+ representation in the legislative body rose close to 10 percent, beating out the U.K.’s previously held record.
In addition to re-electing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the Labour Party leader whose decisive action has been effective in slowing down COVID-19 infection rates since March, New Zealanders cast their vote for several queer newcomers on Saturday. Results show that of the 120 members currently serving in New Zealand’s parliament, 12 seats are now held by openly LGBTQ+ members, up from seven. By contrast, of the 650 members serving in the U.K. parliament, 45 are openly LGBTQ+. That figure makes up 7% of all elected officials, in contrast to New Zealand’s impressive 9.6%.
In addition to this weekend’s historic gains in New Zealand, prominent out officials like Labour Party lawmaker Grant Robertson managed to hold onto their seats for another term. Of the newly elected members, several queer, indigenous leaders — like the Green Party’s Elizabeth Kerekere and Labour’s Kiri Allan — delivered a powerful victory for the LGBTQ+ community by snagging a seat at the table.
This victory is much more than just symbolic. With the specter of COVID-19 still looming and the prospect of several big-ticket fights ahead, parliament could be looking at a historic sea change in the coming months. Earlier this year, Ardern vowed to abolish LGBTQ+ conversion therapy in New Zealand if reelected, and the ruling coalition has also pledged to increase mental health support to LGBTQ+ youth and fight discrimination against same-sex couples in adoption and foster care.
If New Zealand follows through on the pledge to ban conversion therapy, it would be one of just a handful of countries in the world to outlaw the dangerous, discredited practice. Others include Argentina, Germany, Malta, and Uruguay.
But many LGBTQ+ issues are still waiting to be addressed. Top of the list for trans citizens is the pressing matter of New Zealand’s proposed sex-identification law, a potentially life-changing measure that was put on hold in early 2019 after Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin received public backlash.
Some officials hope that the election results will help move things in a more progressive direction. “Numbers do matter,” Labour lawmaker Louisa Wall told the Australian Associated Press in the days leading up to the election. “If we do end up being the most LGBTQI representative parliament in the world, that would be simply great.”
But despite the historic gains in New Zealand, the United States lags far behind on LGBTQ+ representation in government. Despite the much-lauded Rainbow Wave of recent years, the LGBTQ+ political action committee Victory Fund estimates that the LGBTQ+ community would need to increase its representation by 22,544 elected officials to achieve parity. Just two LGBTQ+ people have ever been elected to the U.S. Senate: Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema.
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