Yes to gay bill, no to tour

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 8

Yes to gay bill, no to tour

PA Hamilton The Women’s Electoral Lobby has reaffirmed its support of the Homosexual Law Reform Bill and its opposition to the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa. The national co-ordinator, Ms Dorothy Wilson, of Auckland, said about 70 delegates at the tenth national conference on Sunday voted unanimously on the two issues.

Support for homosexual law reform has been part of W.E.L.’s policy since 1976. Ms Wilson said W.E.L. believed the homosexual

law reform issue was a question of human rights, and a person had the right to his or her own sexual identity. Ms Wilson said the lobby felt very strongly that the All Black tour of South Africa should not go ahead. “Once again, it is a question of human rights. To support the tour is merely to perpetuate white supremacy there,” Ms Wilson said. Other remits passed included calling for steps to curb the burgeoning pornography industry, and that W.E.L. achieve an amendment to the Human Rights

Act 1977 to include the protection of women as a group from defamation caused by pornography. Delegates also confirmed their support for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs; agreed actively to encourage a self-defence course for girls as part of the school curriculum; and support legislative and educational moves to prohibit sexual harassment. W.E.L. asked the Government to pass legislation forbidding the entry of nuclear weapons to New Zealand. One of the official delegates to the United Nations

End of Decade conference for women, an Inglewood County councillor and farmer, Ms Jenny Simpson, addressed the conference on her background.

Her topics at the conference in Nairobi from July 15 to August 2 will be rural women and violence against women.

Ms Simpson is a past national president of the Young Farmers’ Club, former member of the Advisory Committee on Women’s Affairs, and a member of the advisory group that assisted in setting up the Ministry.