The Vote

According to the Herald, the vote was:

Ayes: 65

• Jim Anderton (Prog C, Wigram)
• Rick Barker (Lab, Tukituki)
• Tim Barnett (Lab, Christchurch Central)
• David Benson-Pope (Lab, Dunedin South)
• Georgina Beyer (Lab, Wairarapa)
• Sue Bradford (Greens, list)
• Mark Burton (Lab, Taupo)
• Chris Carter (Lab, list)
• Steve Chadwick (Lab, Rotorua)
• Ashraf Choudhary (Lab, list)
• Helen Clark (Lab, Mt Albert)
• Michael Cullen (Lab, list)
• David Cunliffe (Lab, New Lynn)
• Lianne Dalziel (Lab, Christchurch East)
• Rod Donald (Greens, list)
• Brian Donnelly (NZ First, list)
• Helen Duncan (Labour, list)
• Ruth Dyson (Lab, Banks Peninsula)
• Ian Ewen-Street (Greens, list)
• Russell Fairbrother (Lab, Napier)
• Jeanette Fitzsimons (Greens, list)
• Martin Gallagher (Lab, Hamilton West)
• Phil Goff (Lab, Mt Roskill)
• Mark Gosche (Lab, Maungakiekie)
• Ann Hartley (Lab, Northcote)
• George Hawkins (Lab, Manurewa)
• Dave Hereora (Lab, list)
• Rodney Hide (ACT, list)
• Marian Hobbs (Lab, Wellington Central)
• Pete Hodgson (Lab, Dunedin North)
• Parekura Horomia (Lab, Ikaroa-Rawhiti)
• Darren Hughes (Lab, Otaki)
• Jonathan Hunt (Lab, list)
• Sue Kedgley (Greens, list)
• Annette King (Lab, Rongotai)
• Winnie Laban (Lab, Mana)
• Keith Locke (Greens, list)
• Janet Mackey (Lab, East Coast)
• Moana Mackey (Lab, list)
• Steve Maharey (Lab, Palmerston North)
• Nanaia Mahuta (Lab, Tainui)
• Trevor Mallard (Lab, Hutt South)
• Ron Mark (NZ First, list)
• Mahara Okeroa (Lab, Te Tai Tonga)
• David Parker (Lab, Otago)
• Mark Peck (Lab, Invercargill)
• Jill Pettis (Lab, Whanganui)
• Lynne Pillay (Lab, Waitakere)
• Richard Prebble (ACT, list)
• Katherine Rich (Nat, list)
• Mita Ririnui (Lab, Waiariki)
• Matt Robson (Prog C, list)
• Heather Roy (ACT, list)
• Dover Samuels (Lab, Te Tai Tokerau)
• Ken Shirley (ACT, list)
• Clem Simich (Nat, Tamaki)
• Jim Sutton (Lab, Aoraki)
• Paul Swain (Lab, Rimutaka)
• Nandor Tanczos (Greens, list)
• Judith Tizard (Lab, Auckland Central)
• Metiria Turei (Greens, list)
• Mike Ward (Greens, list)
• Margaret Wilson (Lab, list)
• Pansy Wong (Nat, list)
• Dianne Yates (Lab, list)

Noes: 55

• Paul Adams (UF, list)
• Marc Alexander (UF, list)
• Shane Ardern (Nat, Taranaki-King Country)
• Larry Baldock (United Future, list)
• Don Brash (Nat, list)
• Peter Brown (NZ First, list)
• Gerry Brownlee (Nat, Ilam)
• David Carter (Nat, list)
• John Carter (Nat, Northland)
• Brent Catchpole (NZ First, list)
• Deborah Coddington (ACT, list)
• Judith Collins (Nat, Clevedon)
• Brian Connell (Nat, Rakaia)
• Gordon Copeland (UF, list)
• Clayton Cosgrove (Lab, Waimakariri)
• Peter Dunne (UF, Ohariu-Belmont)
• Harry Duynhoven (Lab, New Plymouth)
• Gerrard Eckhoff (ACT, list)
• Bill English (Nat, Clutha-Southland)
• Taito Phillip Field (Lab, Mangere)
• Stephen Franks (ACT, list)
• Sandra Goudie (Nat, Coromandel)
• Bill Gudgeon (NZ First, list)
• Phil Heatley (Nat, Whangarei)
• Paul Hutchison (Nat, Port Waikato)
• Dail Jones (NZ First, list)
• John Key (Nat, Helensville)
• Wayne Mapp (Nat, North Shore)
• Murray McCully (Nat, Albany)
• Craig McNair (NZ First, list)
• Muriel Newman (ACT, list)
• Damien O'Connor (Lab, West Coast-Tasman)
• Bernie Ogilvy (UF, list)
• Pita Paraone (NZ First, list)
• Edwin Perry (NZ First, list)
• Jim Peters (NZ First, list)
• Winston Peters (NZ First, Tauranga)
• Simon Power (Nat, Rangitikei)
• Ross Robertson (Lab, Manukau East)
• Tony Ryall (Nat, Bay of Plenty)
• Lynda Scott (Nat, Kaikoura)
• Lockwood Smith (Nat, Rodney)
• Murray Smith (UF, list)
• Nick Smith (Nat, Nelson)
• Roger Sowry (Nat, list)
• Barbara Stewart (NZ First, list)
• John Tamihere (Lab, Tamaki Makarau)
• Georgina te Heuheu (Nat, list)
• Lindsay Tisch (Nat, Piako)
• Tariana Turia (Te Tai Hauauru)
• Judy Turner (UF, list)
• Kenneth Wang (ACT, list)
• Maurice Williamson (Nat, Pakuranga)
• Doug Woolerton (NZ First, list)
• Richard Worth (Nat, Epsom)

So ACT showed once again that it is not really a liberal party, while National turns out to be less liberal than NZFirst. I guess there's a reason Don Brash doesn't know of any queer National MPs...

David Benson-Pope's and Nandor Tanczos' speeches are also online. Benson-Pope recognises the centrality of relationships to people's lives and self-image, which makes discrimination in this area an extremely heavy burden. He also makes a forceful case for equality:

Saying no to civil unions is to say some relationships are "first class", but other loving, committed, stable relationships are for some inexplicable reason, of a lesser value.

Saying no to civil unions is to say some people deserve only the seats in the back of the bus.

Like Benson-Pope, I find this an intolerable proposition. There is no place in New Zealand for second-class citizenship.

Nandor likewise makes a strong case for equality, pluralism and state neutrality, but more interesting argues that opposition to the bill is driven in part by fear of losing control. The Dead White Males who currently run our society

see their dominance of our social and political forms slipping away... The increasing plurality of our society is scary for those who have always paddled in the mainstream. They have not yet understood - there no longer is a mainstream. We have become a braided river.

This fear also underlies opposition to Maori claims to the foreshore and seabed, to the Treaty process, to Immigration, and all the petty complaints about the increasing visibility and influence of non-white, non-males in our society. All of these issues are simply stalking horses for generational change - for a struggle of the young, with their vision of a pluralistic, independent and progressive New Zealand, and the old, too many of whom look back nostalgiacly to the "good old days" of the fifties, when Pakeha were unquestionably dominant and secure in their identity as British, and women and Maori knew their place. The problem for the old is that they are dying; History (or rather demographics) is on our side, and we will bury them - literally, in most cases.