Rainbow colored flag of LGBT society
Wellington City Council has passed a “pioneering” Rainbow Action Plan, the first council in the country to do so.
At a council meeting today, the council unanimously voted in support of the plan, which aims to make the capital more safe and inclusive for LGBTIQ+ communities.
City councillor Teri O’Neill, who identifies as queer and non-binary, championed the initiative and said they are “proud to lead the way in ensuring all Wellingtonians have a city where they feel safe, respected and seen”.
Councillor Iona Pannett said the plan aims to ensure that in all the council’s public-facing operations and internal practices, it “champions and celebrates rainbow identities”.
It includes ensuring rainbow communities have access to safe public places and council staff are educated on inclusive operations.
The plan has been developed within existing work programmes so no extra funding will be required, a council spokesman said in a statement.
Recent Census data shows Wellington is the city with the highest proportion of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer – 11.3% of Wellington’s adult population indicated they were LGBTIQ+ or rainbow.
After Wellington, the cities with the highest proportions were Dunedin (7.3%), Christchurch (6%), Palmerston North (5.8%) and Hamilton (5.6%).
Bryan Patchett of the Takatāpui Rainbow Advisory Council, told councillors at a meeting today that the rainbow community is a “substantial and significant” community in the city.
“It’s not all rosy, it’s a difficult time for many rainbow people in New Zealand and also in Wellington.”
Patchett said young people face higher levels of homelessness and housing insecurity, and transgender and non-binary people are facing increased hostility.
Patchett also said his community is under attack from “some religious institutional and political leaders and some in the media”.
“I really do look to this council and this city as a place where we can create some safety for the community,” he said.
He said for rainbow people all over the world, cities are important places for people to come to find themselves.
Jade Musther of Cahoots Workshop, a local community space exclusively for women and gender-diverse people, told the council the plan was an important step for the council.
Musther described Wellington as the “queer Mecca” of New Zealand and said rainbow people have a “mixed bag” of experiences in the city, and while they are more safe in the capital than elsewhere, they are still often unsafe.
Musther said she is “really impressed” with the action plan, “it rings so true and it feels so reflective of our experiences”.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has celebrated the plan, saying on social media the city’s rainbow community has “played a huge role in shaping our city’s history, culture, and creativity”.
In 2018, Wellington City Council painted a rainbow crossing at the intersection of Cuba and Dixon Sts, after the council signed off on the idea in a quest for the capital to be “more deliberately LGBTQI-friendly”.
Mayor at the time Justin Lester took part in painting the crossing, saying the council wanted Cuba St to develop into Wellington’s Pride Precinct.
Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.