Tim Barnett (politician)
| Tim Barnett | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central |
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In office 1996 – 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Lianne Dalziel |
| Succeeded by | Brendon Burns |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Timothy Andrew Barnett 4 August 1958 Rugby, Warwickshire, England |
| Nationality |
United Kingdom New Zealand |
| Political party |
New Zealand Labour Party Labour Party (UK) |
| Website | timbarnett.org.nz |
Timothy Andrew "Tim" Barnett (born 4 August 1958) was the member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Christchurch Central from 1996 to 2008, representing the Labour Party. He was 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.
Born in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, on 4 August 1958, he moved to New Zealand in 1991 with his partner, Jonathan Kirkpatrick. Educated at the London School of Economics, graduating with a B.Sc. (Honours) in Economics (Government) in 1981. In the United Kingdom he had been the inaugural executive director of the Stonewall Lobby Group, which was the first professional lobby group set up in that country to work for equal rights for lesbian and gay people.
He was elected to Parliament as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch Central in 1996. He has been active in many community-based organisations in New Zealand, including the lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) section of the Labour Party, (Rainbow Labour) which he helped to found in 1997, and is a supporter of UniQ, the Queer Students Association at New Zealand universities. He was the Parliamentary promoter of the Prostitution Law Reform Bill, a Bill in his name, which became law in 2003 and thus made New Zealand the first country in the world to decriminalise prostitution, and an outspoken supporter of the Civil Union Bill, which became law in 2004 and made New Zealand the first country outside Europe to legislate for equal relationship status for lesbian and gay couples. He was appointed Senior Government Whip after the 2005 election. He was known to be very active in his local electorate chairing a Youth Advisory Committee as well as being a regular contributor to the St Albans Neighbourhood News.
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