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| Source: Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission
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Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986 launches today, drawing on first-hand accounts of the 1985-86 campaign that changed New Zealand law.
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission today announced the launch of Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986, a new podcast marking the 40th anniversary of the Homosexual Law Reform Act, the law that decriminalised consensual sex between men in New Zealand.
The Act passed its third reading in Parliament on 9 July 1986, following a 16-month nationwide debate that divided the country. It came into force on 8 August, finally ending the threat of prosecution and imprisonment that gay men had lived under.
The Act, introduced as a member’s bill by then-Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde in March 1985, was a major step forward for human rights and justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“The passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act 40 years ago today represented far more than the passing of a piece of legislation – for gay men who lived during that era, the act represented a watershed,” said Dr Stephen Rainbow, Chief Commissioner, Human Rights Commission.
“As New Zealand’s first openly gay Chief Human Rights Commissioner, this anniversary carries particular significance for me,” said Dr Rainbow. “The 40th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on how fortunate we are to live in a democracy that enables minority voices to be heard, protected and promoted.”
Disability Rights Commissioner and Rainbow rights spokesperson, Prudence Walker adds: “This anniversary is a chance to celebrate social progress in Aotearoa New Zealand, while also acknowledging that some Rainbow people don’t yet enjoy the freedoms that generation fought to achieve.”
Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986 is a limited series of five episodes featuring interviews with political and social campaigners, archival audio, and reflection on the impact of the law change for gay men in New Zealand.
For the Human Rights Commission, it’s a chance to reflect on its role in history – including deciding not to recommend to Parliament in 1979 that the Human Rights Act be amended to add ‘sexual orientation’ to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
“Although the Commission supported decriminalising sex between men and strengthening anti-discrimination in the Human Rights Act later in 1985, we wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge we did not provide the leadership expected of us to Rainbow communities at that time,” says Walker.
In the podcast leaders from Rainbow communities guide us through the changing story of sexuality and gender in New Zealand, revisit the moments that shaped the landmark Bill, and honour the courage of those who fought on the frontlines for equality.
Episodes feature:
- Takatāpui scholar and artist Professor Elizabeth Kerekere.
- Professor of gender studies, Professor Chris Brickell.
- Frontline activists Linda Evans and Gavin Young.
- Fran Wilde, former Labour MP who introduced the Homosexual Law Reform Bill, and Dr Stephen Rainbow, Chief Commissioner, Human Rights Commission.
- Niuean fakafifine and rights activist Phylesha Brown-Acton, and wahine takatāpui, former MP, and marriage equality changemaker, Louisa Wall.
- Disability Rights Commissioner and Commission Rainbow rights spokesperson, Prudence Walker, and legal scholar and advocate Vinod Bal.
Listen to all five episodes now on:
Notes
The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 decriminalised consensual sexual activity between men aged 16 and over. It did not address discrimination directly, but it opened the door to later protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation that followed with the Human Rights Act 1993.
Key dates: Bill introduced 7 March 1985; third reading (passed) 9 July 1986; Homosexual Law Reform Act came into force 8 August 1986.
Discussions on the podcast reflect that it was recorded while submissions were open on the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill. Submissions on that bill closed on 2 July 2026.