NZ First list MP Dail Jones has hit out at the Government's Care of Children Bill, saying it has no useful purpose and that its only supporters are gays and lesbians. "After hearing many submissions and reading all 270 or so of them, it seems to me that the only group that can claim any real reason to support the bill are the various lesbian and homosexual witnesses who came before the committee supporting it because they believed it would improve their recognition by the courts," said Jones in the NZ Herald. "Lesbians and homosexuals can now obtain custody or access orders. It would appear that lesbians and homosexuals make up 0.3 per cent of society today. All the lesbian and homosexual witnesses are seeking is a right for themselves, not anything which relates to the welfare or best interest of the child." It is unclear where Jones obtained his figures on the gay and lesbian population, as their are no official figures to support his assertion. Studies of sexual orientation carried out over the last fifty years have put the gay and lesbian population at anywhere between five and ten percent worlwide.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 31st January 2004 - 12:00pm