The title of this recording is "Chris Carter - Rainbow Voices of Aotearoa New Zealand". It is described as: Interview with Chris Carter, from the documentary Rainbow Voices of Aotearoa New Zealand. It was recorded in Rainbow Room, Parliament buildings, Molesworth Street, Wellington on the 7th March 2019. Chris Carter is presenting.  Their name is spelt correctly but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 3 minutes, but this may not reflect the actual length of the proceedings. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. The content in the recording covers the 2010s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The recording "Chris Carter - Rainbow Voices of Aotearoa New Zealand" captures a significant narrative about the evolution of LGBTQ+ representation in the New Zealand Parliament. Recorded on March 7, 2019, in the Rainbow Room of the Parliament buildings in Wellington, the speaker, Chris Carter, shares their experiences as the first openly gay Member of Parliament in New Zealand. In the recording, Carter reflects on the journey from when they first came out in 1994 while newly elected as an MP, through to their 18 years of service. Over this time, they witnessed a substantial shift in attitudes, from initial widespread attention and mixed reaction to LGBTQ+ MPs becoming an accepted aspect of New Zealand's diverse society. The discourse touches on the progression of societal norms and the dismantling of barriers for LGBTQ+ individuals in high-profile positions. Carter proudly recalls being part of a "formidable rainbow team" in Parliament, alongside Georgina Beyer, the world's first transsexual MP, and Tim Barnett, the MP for Christchurch Central. The three worked against the backdrop of conservative opposition, including from within their own political party, yet over time, witnessed and contributed to a transformative change in attitudes. A poignant anecdote is shared about John Banks, a notable critic and then-Police Minister, who later became more accepting of the gay community after personal interactions with Carter. This anecdote exemplifies the power personal relationships have in challenging and changing prejudiced beliefs. Through their public visibility and service, Carter and their colleagues provided a voice to those who felt voiceless and brought to light the presence and importance of the queer community in New Zealand. They stress the importance of engaging with the community, being visible, and fostering understanding to build a sense of unity. The impact of their visibility is highlighted by a powerful personal encounter with a young individual in Australia who expressed that Carter had prevented them from committing suicide. This encounter underlines the profound effect representation can have on individuals struggling with their own identity, reaffirming the worth of Carter's resilience in the face of adversity. The recording concludes with an acknowledgment of the progression of LGBTQ+ representation in the New Zealand Parliament, from its fraught beginnings to normalized inclusion. It marks a celebration of how far the political landscape has evolved and the importance of continuing to champion diversity. The full transcription of the recording follows.  It includes timestamps every thirty seconds in the format [HH:MM:SS].  The transcription begins:  Hi, my name's Chris Carter. I was honored to be the first out gay MP in the New Zealand Parliament. I came out in 1994 when I was a new mp, uh, elected for the constituency of atu, a very working class district in West Oakland. Over the, uh, 18 years that I served at Parliament, I, uh, saw a huge transition from being the first, which generated a lot of. both praise and, and hostility to, and [00:00:30] a lot of media interest to out gay MPs at the New Zealand Parliament now being, uh, no big deal, just part of recognized as part of the, the normal diversity of New Zealand society. I was really pleased, uh, to be joined later in the Parliament by my very good friend, Georgina Beyer, New Zealand's first and the world's first transsexual MP, uh, and also my colleague, Tim Barnett, the MP for Christchurch Central. The three of us were a formidable rainbow team [00:01:00] here at Parliament and we still had a number of very reactionary and conservative MPs, uh, primarily in the opposition, but also a few of them in our own party as well. But over time that changed. You know, John Banks was my greatest critic when I was elected. He was police minister, and I was an opposition MP. Later, I became the minister of local government, and he was the mayor of Auckland. When he left that mayoralty, he said to me, Chris, getting to know you changed my opinion about gays, and it made [00:01:30] me a much more accepting person. And I guess the message for all of us in those comments from John Banks, that by engaging in the community, by not being in the closet, by being out, We shine light on the fact that, that the, that the queer community is everywhere in our country and, uh, and is part of our country. And I think that by engaging with people, You, uh, create, uh, feelings of understanding, uh, feelings of, of brotherhood, sisterhood. And, [00:02:00] uh, I'm really, um, proud, uh, that I was the first out gay MP in our parliament. And I'm really glad there are many more that followed me. You know, there were many incidents in, in my career as an MP, and I'm sure my colleagues Georgina Byer and Tim Barnett and others can also attest to the fact that being out And in being in a prominent position as an MP, it gives you the chance to give the voice to people who felt they had no voice. When I was a government minister, I was the Minister of Housing at the time, I was in [00:02:30] Australia and a young, I met a young New Zealand woman in a bar there and she said to me, You saved my life. And I said, how could that be? I've never met you before. And she said, you were my local MP. You came to my school during prize giving. And I was struggling with my sexuality. I had very religious parents. And I had been considering suicide. And she said, I watched you on the stage all night. And you were the big man. You were being honored by everybody. You were our local MP and you were a government minister. And I thought afterwards, if it's okay for Chris Carter, it's [00:03:00] okay for me. Now that was just one story. But it had a huge impact on me. I thought if all of the hostility that I endured as the first out gay MP, all of that was worth it just for that story alone, where that young woman said that I prevented her from committing suicide. And that affected me a lot and made me very proud. The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2010s ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Auckland ; Australia ; Chris Carter ; Christchurch ; John Banks ; Mayor of Auckland ; Parliament buildings ; People ; Rainbow Room ; The Closet ; career ; class ; closet ; community ; conservative ; diversity ; feelings ; gay ; government ; housing ; local government ; mayor ; media ; normal ; parents ; police ; queer ; rainbow ; school ; sexuality ; suicide ; time ; transition ; understanding ; voice ; working class. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/rainbow_voices_of_aotearoa_new_zealand_chris_carter.html. The master recording is also archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.  For more details visit their website https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1089894. Chris Carter also features audibly in the following recordings: "Maiden speech of MP Chris Carter", "Rainbow Voices of Aotearoa New Zealand documentary" and "Chris Carter - Maiden Speech (16 March 1994)". Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.