Beauty queen hammers legislative attack on the family

By CLAIRE TREVETT

It was perhaps an unfortunate phrase, but a light moment from a beauty queen at a hearing on the Civil Union Bill seemed to capture the mood of submitters.

"You guys will be dead in your graves pushing up the pansies and we will be reaping the effects of what this bill will bring," said former Miss New Zealand Sharee Adams, speaking out against the bill yesterday.

The bill would allow same sex couples to enter a legal relationship known as a civil union, giving them the same rights as married couples.

Its opponents have argued it would undermine traditional marriage and amounted to social engineering.

Miss Adams, 24, the daughter of United Future MP Paul Adams, won her title last year.

She told the committee: "We should have been called Generation Whatever. We say "whatever" to everything. That attitude is everywhere in my generation.

"We don't really give a rip about anything."

However, she said she feared the attitude would leave her peers with a lot of cleaning up to do in the future.

"It will be my generation who are going to sort out the effects of this legislation. This is why I'm here. I'd rather be at McDonald's eating burgers or something.

"The debate is that we are discriminating against a lot of people. But then all laws discriminate against someone. I could drive at the age of 10 because my father was a rally driver, but did that mean I was allowed to drive on the road?"

She said many people thought her parents had been too strict on their children, but she was now glad they had set such a strong example of a good marriage.

"This legislation will serve the interests of a few to the detriment of marriage, children and society as a whole. As a young person who wants to get married and have children of my own one day, how will this law be of any benefit?

"It is for such a minority, I don't even know why a Government would want to propose such legislation when there's only 2 per cent of people that fit in the category."

After the hearing, she said it was the first time she had made a submission to a select committee.

"My generation is very laidback, it's in New Zealand's build, but this issue is far too important to just let it lie."

She said she had worked with children both professionally and as a volunteer. "I can see the effects a good solid marriage has on children. It would be nice if everybody could fit in the ideal and I know it's not possible, but we need to keep the foundation of society together."

* Miss Adams was a United Future candidate for the Northcote electorate in 2002, attracting 1139 votes or 3.73 per cent support.