Stephen Rainbow | |
---|---|
Chief Human Rights Commissioner | |
Assumed office 11 November 2024 | |
Preceded by | Paul Hunt |
Member of the Wellington City Council for Southern Ward | |
In office 14 October 1995 –10 October 1998 Servingwith Celia Wade-Brown,Sue Piper,John Gilberthorpe | |
Preceded by | Peter Parussini |
Succeeded by | Alick Shaw |
Member of the Wellington City Council for Lambton Ward | |
In office 14 October 1989 –14 October 1995 Servingwith Terry McDavitt,Russell Armitage,Rex Nicholls,Liz Thomas | |
Preceded by | Margaret Bonner |
Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Christchurch,New Zealand | 26 January 1961
Political party | Labour Party (1977–84) Green Party (1989–95) Progressive Green (1995–99) National (1999) |
Alma mater | Victoria University of Wellington |
Stephen Laurence Rainbow (born 26 January 1961) is a New Zealand public servant and former local-body politician.
Stephen Rainbow was born in Christchurch in 1961. He grew up on a tobacco farm south of Nelson and was educated in Richmond at Waimea College. [1] Later he attended Victoria University of Wellington from 1982 and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts,and in 1991 with a PhD in Political Science. [2]
Rainbow and his partner Anna Frusin (who was born in the Soviet Union) had three children together;Alexandra,Larissa and Solomon. [2]
Rainbow became politically active in the 1970s joining the Labour Party and served on Labour's New Zealand Council. [2] In 1983 he contested the Labour nomination to replace retiring party leader Bill Rowling in the Tasman seat,but lost to Ken Shirley. [1] [3] He did not renew his membership in 1984 and later joined the newly formed Green Party and stood for election in 1989 for the Wellington City Council on a Green ticket. He was successful and became the country's first Green councillor. [4] The next year he contested the seat of Wellington Central for the Greens at the 1990 general election,finishing third out of seven candidates. [5] Rainbow was opposed to the Green Party's decision to join the Alliance and declined to stand for them in the seat at the 1992 Wellington Central by-election. There were rumours that Rainbow would instead be approached by Labour (which he was formerly a member of) to stand for them. A Labour official downplayed the rumour but did not rule out the possibility. Rainbow himself said he had no official approach from Labour and stated in any event he wished to concentrate on his role as a Wellington City Councillor. [6]
Rainbow was re-elected to the Wellington City Council in 1992 and 1995. On both occasions he also stood for Mayor without success,finishing fourth in 1992 and seventh in 1995. [7] [8]
By 1994 Rainbow was a leading voice of the opposition to the Green Party's membership of the Alliance,a broad left-wing coalition,thinking the Alliance's emphasis on social justice type issues detracted focus from environmental issues. [9] [10] In 1995 Rainbow co-founded the Progressive Green Party,a "Bluegreen" environmentalist party with a more right-wing emphasis.
In 1998 Rainbow decided not to seek re-election. By that time the Progressive Greens had disbanded and most members had joined the "Bluegreen" wing of the National Party,including Rainbow. At the 1999 general election,he stood as a list only candidate for National,ranked 51st. With a relatively low ranking he was not allocated a seat. [11]
In the 2010s Rainbow was the manager of Auckland Transport's key relationships unit. [12]
Rainbow is also a gay rights activist. He served as Chairman of Auckland-based phone support and LGBT advocacy service OUTLine and also a board member of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. [13] He campaigned for same sex marriage reform. [14]
In 2021 Rainbow was criticised for social media posts seen as transphobic. [15] The comments were made regarding a petition to ban conversion therapy. Rainbow denied he was transphobic. [16]
In August 2024,he was appointed to be New Zealand's Chief Human Rights Commissioner from November 2024 by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. [17] Left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury and The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman criticised Rainbow's appointment,citing his alleged transphobic and pro-Israel views. [18] [19] In October it was revealed that the independent panel set up to shortlist and interview candidates for the role did not recommend Rainbow. [20]
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.
The Alliance was a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed at the end of 1991 by the linking of four smaller parties. The Alliance positioned itself as a democratic socialist alternative to the centre-left New Zealand Labour Party. It was influential throughout the 1990s, but suffered a major setback after its founder and leader, Jim Anderton, left the party in 2002, taking with him several of its members of parliament (MPs). After the remaining MPs lost their seats in the 2002 general election, some commentators predicted the demise of the party.
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.
The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington. Its first leader was Tony Brunt, and Geoff Neill, the party's candidate in the Dunedin North electorate, became the Deputy Leader.
Laila Jane Harré is a New Zealand former politician and trade unionist. Joining the Labour Party at 15, she left in 1989 to join the left-wing splinter party NewLabour, later the Alliance. She was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1996 and re-elected in 1999. In her second term, she served as Minister for Women in the Fifth Labour Government, overseeing the introduction of paid parental leave. After long-time leader Jim Anderton split from the Alliance in 2002, Harré replaced him as leader. With the party's fortunes in steep decline, it failed to win any seats in that year's election.
Keith James Locke was a New Zealand activist and politician. He was a Green Party Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2011.
Timothy Andrew Barnett is a New Zealand politician who was the member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Christchurch Central from 1996 to 2008, representing the Labour Party. He is a British immigrant to New Zealand and New Zealand's second openly gay politician. Barnett moved to South Africa in 2009 to work in the field of HIV/AIDS. He returned to New Zealand in 2012 when he was appointed by the Labour Party as their general secretary.
The Progressive Green Party was an environmentalist political party in New Zealand in the 1990s. It was a "blue-green" party – that is, one that is economically right-wing ("blue"), rather than left-wing ("red"), as well as environmentalist ("green").
The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 99 members to the House of Representatives, up from 97 members at the 1990 election. The election was held concurrently with an electoral reform referendum to replace the first-past-the-post system, with all members elected from single-member electorates, with mixed-member proportional representation. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing away from National in both seats and votes, and the carrying of the referendum by 53.9% to 46.1%.
Rainbow Labour is the LGBT+ sector of the New Zealand Labour Party.
New Zealand lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceania, and among the most liberal in the world, with the country being the first in the region to legalise same-sex marriage.
The Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand, operating independently from direction by the Cabinet. Founded in 1977, the commission addresses issues of discrimination, equality, and human rights through education, advocacy, and resolving complaints. It provides guidance on anti-discrimination law.
Auckland Central is a New Zealand electoral division returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate is currently represented by Chlöe Swarbrick, a member of the Green Party; she has represented the seat since 2020.
Kevin Grant Hague is a New Zealand public servant, activist and a former politician.
The 1992 Wellington Central by-election was a by-election held in the Wellington Central electorate during the 43rd New Zealand Parliament, on 12 December 1992. It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Fran Wilde after her election as mayor of Wellington and was won by Chris Laidlaw with a majority of 855.
James Peter Edward Shaw is a New Zealand climate activist, businessman and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 2014 to 2024 and a co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2015 to 2024.
Marama Mere-Ana Davidson is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a list MP representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she became the female co-leader in 2018.
Elizabeth Anne Kerekere is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Greens on 5 May 2023, following allegations of bullying within the party. Kerekere remained in parliament as an independent until the 2023 election.
Ricardo Menéndez March is a New Zealand activist and politician who, since 2020, is a Member of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the House of Representatives.
The 1995 Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand co-leadership elections were elections that took place on 21 May 1995 to determine the future leadership of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.