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Kiwi of the Week

Charles Heaphy

The multi-faceted Charles Heaphy made quite an impact on colonial New Zealand as an artist, explorer, soldier and colonial administrator. He was the first colonial soldier to win the Victoria Cross

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Today in History

9 July

1986 Homosexual Law Reform Bill passed

Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde's bill, which aroused bitter public and political debate, removed criminal sanctions against consensual male homosexual practices.

The Homosexual Law Reform Act was signed by the Governor-General on 11 July 1986 and came into effect on 8 August. It decriminalised sexual relations between men aged 16 and over. No longer would men having consensual sex with each other be liable to prosecution and a term of imprisonment. Sex between women was never illegal, but many lesbians suffered the same social discrimination as gay men and were staunch supporters of the reform movement.

The campaign to reform the law moved beyond the gay community to embrace wider issues of human rights and discrimination. Opponents of the law reform warned of the destruction of the ‘New Zealand family’ and predicted the spread of AIDS through the community.

Image: Homosexual law reform poster