Wellington City councillors propose rainbow advisory group

Wednesday, 9 December 2020

Wellington’s rainbow crossing was opened on Cuba St in 2018. (File photo)

A rainbow advisory group is being proposed for Wellington City Council in response to concerns among that community about problems like homelessness and a lack of safety.

The proposal is being put forward by councillors Rebecca Matthews and Tamatha Paul, and would allow the rainbow community to be more closely involved in council decision-making.

“They were one of the first groups that approached me when I was elected in the community engagement role,” said Matthews, a first-time councillor elected in October last year.

“They really want an opportunity to get into the council and be able to influence the direction of the city and inform those decisions.”

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If approved, the advisory group would be the fifth on the city council, along with the Pasifika, accessibility, and environmental reference groups, and the Youth Council.

Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews (centre) has called for the advisory group along with councillor Tamatha Paul. (File photo)

Matthews said the idea had been discussed by the previous council, which sat between 2016 and 2019, but an upcoming review of the council’s advisory group model presented an opportunity to officially table the idea.

It would be put forward as an amendment at Thursday’s strategy and policy committee meeting.

The rainbow community, also known as the LGBTQI+ community, had previously raised concerns with the council about issues like safety, homelessness, and city culture, said Matthews.

“Especially post-Covid, there has been a lot of impact on the rainbow community, and they’re really looking for us to get into some of those issues with them.”

Safety concerns included high levels of homelessness among the transgender community, and other problems like street harassment and violence, Matthews said.

An army tank joined the crowd at the Wellington Pride Parade in 2019.

The rainbow group, like other advisory groups, would allow the community to inform council staff during the development of policies and before council votes.

Other councils, including Auckland Council, had similar groups, Matthews said.

“We want to get them involved earlier in the process, so they influence what comes before us and help shape what we do.”

Councillor Jill Day, who holds the council’s associate community wellbeing portfolio, said the group would allow the rainbow community to have a voice it would otherwise struggle to find.

“I totally support it, and I’m really pleased to see this come forward.”

Day also said homelessness levels among the transgender community were a concern, as were things like a lack of gender-neutral public toilets and changing rooms.

Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, the council’s community wellbeing portfolio leader, also supported the move.

“My son is transgender. I want a Wellington where he and people in all our rainbow communities can reach their full potential.”

The rainbow or LGBTQI+ community includes people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex.

Tabby Besley, managing director of Inside Out, a national charity supporting young rainbow people, said her organisation and others had been lobbying the council for several years to establish a rainbow advisory group.

“It’s a no-brainer for us to have more of a voice within the council structure.”

Besley hoped the partnership could help to establish more housing options and safe spaces for the rainbow community, including a community centre.

The rainbow community had often been victims of housing and employment discrimination, Besley said.

Homelessness disproportionately affected transgender people, but there were no housing options designed specifically for them, she said.