Formal ‘sorry’ for gay convictions

Parliament will issue a formal apology to men convicted of homosexual crimes under old laws.

Justice Minister Amy Adams will move the apology during the first reading of a bill to expunge the crimes from the record this afternoon.

The motion will read: ‘‘I move that this House apologise to those homosexual New Zealanders who were convicted for consensual adult activity, and recognise the tremendous hurt and suffering those men and their families have gone through, and the continued effects the convictions have had on them.’’

All parties in Parliament will be given the opportunity to speak on the motion.

Adams’ Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill was announced in February and introduced to Parliament late last month.

It will set up a system where men charged with consensual homosexual conduct (or their families if they have passed) under old laws can apply to have those convictions wiped from the record.

"So many people were forced into unnecessarily small lives. The hurt was enormous." Veteran LGBT activist Bill Logan

The Justice Ministry believes there are around 1000 of these men still alive.

It is the first ever ‘‘expungement scheme’’ introduced in New Zealand.

Homosexual sex was legalised in 1986 after a firestorm of protests and counter-protests, but the convictions under the old law still stand to this day.

The move to expunge the convictions came after a petition was presented to MPs last year.

‘‘It’s Parliament apologising and reflecting the fact that we now recognise that that legal framework was inappropriate,’’ Adams said.

‘‘It gives Parliament a chance to express its regret.’’

Veteran LGBT activist Bill Logan, who was a pivotal figure in the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in the 1980s, said the apology and pardon were really ‘‘the least’’ the government could do.

‘‘So many people were forced into unnecessarily small lives. The hurt was enormous. The number of lives which were completely wrecked by these laws, which were a reflection of social attitudes at the time. Parliament was a part of that,’’ Logan said.

He said most of the people affected would be long dead and those remaining would likely prefer to not come forward.

‘‘It’s better that there is a process than there isn’t.’’

People who had been convicted often had trouble holding down steady employment, even after the law was changed down.

Logan has called for some kind of financial compensation - something Prime Minister Bill English has ruled out.

‘‘We can always find plenty of money to bail out banks when they collapse. But we can’t seem to find money for the actual social debts that we have for being evil to people,’’ Logan said.