Pillay Lynne: Civil Union Bill — In Committee Procedure 
Pillay Lynne: Civil Union Bill — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:622;Page:17504] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 In rising to speak in support of the Civil Union Bill I would just like to make a comment about the previous speaker’s views on how intolerant the Labour Party or anyone who supports the bill is. I put it to this Chamber that his diatribe of attacks on anything less than what he perceives to be the norm his intolerance of anything that is not part of the Dail Jones view of how the world should be is absolute intolerance. 
Dail Jones 
: Let’s have a referendum. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: I do not believe that a referendum is appropriate. This is a conscience issue and we have cast our votes accordingly. 
I would like to pay respect to people. For me my vote was not a difficult decision—I actually feel really strongly that this legislation is about justice and equality—but for many members the issue has been difficult. I would like to pay respect to Ashraf Choudhary who I know spent not just many hours but days and weeks thinking about this issue. In the end he decided to support the bill because it is about justice and equality. That is something that I feel is an integral part of our society. This legislation is simply about the ability of couples in loving relationships to formalise those relationships whether they be gay or heterosexual. It is also about their extended families and about their children. 
We are a great nation with great communities. Generally speaking we are a tolerant and inclusive society. But as the previous speaker has shown opponents of this legislation are not looking at it from an inclusive point of view; they are saying that people who do not fit the norm—who are not like them—are somehow less than whole. I have heard previous speakers say that the best family situation for kids is to have a mum and dad and that any family that does not fit that mould is therefore just not up to scratch. My perspective is that I was for some time a single parent. I had been married and I believe that it was in the best interests of me my ex-husband and my children that we did not remain married. Also my children are of Indian and Pakeha descent. Life was a lot different a couple of decades ago—they are now 26 and 23—and from time to time as they grew up racist comments were made to them. They would come home genuinely upset about things that had been said to them. To a parent there is nothing more hurtful than having one’s children hurt by something that one knows is unfair and repugnant. 
Opponents of this bill who say that people in same-sex relationships should not have their relationships formalised and that their children are in some way disadvantaged or less whole than children whose parents are married are actually doing exactly the same thing to those children—they are passing a judgment that those children are somehow not as good or that their family backgrounds are not as good. 
Obviously my children have grown up. I am not a grandparent yet as many members are but I do have many friends with young children. Many of those friends are heterosexual and some of them are gay parents. My two particular sets of friends who are gay parents are wonderful parents. They are absolutely fantastic parents. They have great kids who are high-achieving and wonderful children to know and who are very dear to me. So it really grieves me to hear members criticise such families.