Auckland Transport investigating manager's Facebook post about gay conversion therapy

Wednesday, 17 February 2021

It’s Pride month and the LGBTQIA+ community are outraged by what is seen as a “transphobic” facebook comment by senior Auckland Transport staff Stephen Rainbow. (File photo)

Auckland Transport is investigating a social media post by a member of management about gay conversion therapy, which has sparked anger and allegations of transphobia from a council employee.

On Tuesday night, AT’s Stephen Rainbow replied to a post in the Rainbow Auckland Networking Group on Facebook. The post was calling for people to sign a petition to ban gay conversion therapy.

Rainbow’s reply said: “be careful…there’s some elements of the trans agenda being sneakily promoted through this campaign”.

It's prompted complaints about transphobia. Those speaking out against it include one of Rainbow’s colleagues at AT.

Conversion therapy includes practices used in an attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation and has been linked to serious long term mental health issues, according to the Green Party's campaign’s website.

Stuff has approached Rainbow for comment.

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His employer, Auckland Transport, said it is looking into the situation.

AT media manager Mark Hannan said AT has had a number of messages on the “comments” made by a staff member in “a private capacity on social media.”

Hannan said they are looking into the matter in conjunction with AT’s policies, processes and organisation values.

He said AT would not make any further comment as it is seen as a private employment issue.

Rohan Fozzy, administrator for the Facebook group where the post was made, said he has removed it while reminding other members to refrain from comments that are “hateful and hurt others.”

Fozzy, who is also a member of the executive team of Rainbow Auckland, said “those kinds of comments are not welcome at all,” and is still recovering from the “shock” that something of this nature was posted in a group which he felt should be inclusive.

AT manager John Nottage has called out colleague Stephen Rainbow for a social media post he was “disgusted” by. (File photo)

“That just doesn’t live to our values,” he said.

Fozzy said trans people are just as vulnerable to conversion therapy as gay people and said he thought Rainbow’s comment was “unnecessary.

AT senior communications interface advisor John Nottage has publicly called-out his colleague in a twitter post:

“I'm absolutely disgusted to discover that this transphobic comment is coming from recently appointed manager at Auckland Transport,

“I've emailed our Executive Manager directly, requesting that this is addressed immediately, and I am moved into a new team as soon as possible,” he wrote

The twitter post has received over 300 likes, with others saying they intend to complain to AT.

North Shore ward councillor Richard Hills, an active voice for LGBTQIA+ rights, said he was unable to comment directly on a staff member when the matter concerns employment issues between the staff and Auckland Transport.

However, Hills said it is “extremely disappointing” to hear transphobic comments in a public forum, especially in Pride month.

Yesterday evening, Hill had tweeted “Transphobia has no place in our community. Let alone in the rainbow community,” in response to an angry twitter reaction to Stephen Rainbow’s post by John Nottage.