Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission6 EpisodesJul 8, 2026
Forty years ago, on 9 July 1986, the Homosexual Law Reform Act ended the threat of prosecution for gay men and opened the door for progress - a watershed in Aotearoa New Zealand's human rights history. Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986 is a new five-part series that looks at the events leading up to the passing of Labour MP Fran Wilde’s Bill, and beyond, through the voices of activists, politicians, scholars, and the community leaders who lived it. It celebrates how far we've come and acknowledges the Rainbow communities who don’t yet enjoy the advantages that generation fought to achieve. The series features archival audio and conversations with Fran Wilde, Professor Elizabeth Kerekere, Dr Stephen Rainbow, Phylesha Brown-Acton, Louisa Wall, Professor Chris Brickell, Linda Evans, Gavin Young, Prudence Walker and Vinod Bal. Brought to you by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission.
Episodes
Episode 5Jul 8, 20263365In this episode, Disability Rights Commissioner and Commission Rainbow rights spokesperson, Prudence Walker, and legal scholar and advocate Vinod Bal talk about closing the gaps, legal vs social progress, and what a future of belonging looks like for everyone under the Rainbow.
Episode 4Jul 8, 20263744In this episode, we meet Niuean fakafifine and rights activist Phylesha Brown-Acton, and wahine Takatāpui, former MP, and marriage equality changemaker, Louisa Wall. They discuss Indigenous identities, local and regional activism, and the importance of maintaining wellbeing while advocating. They reflect on how progress is experienced differently across communities.
Episode 3Jul 8, 20262795In this episode, the former Labour MP who introduced the Bill, Fran Wilde, talks to Chief Human Rights Commissioner Stephen Rainbow, who was a young gay man supporting the movement in the mid-1980s. They discuss the courage of those who supported the Bill publicly, often at great personal cost, and the extraordinary tale of what it took to get the Bill through.
Episode 2Jul 8, 20262517In this episode, activists Linda Evans and Gavin Young, present on the front lines in the 1970s and 1980s, discuss those early attempts at law reform, the internal politics of Rainbow communities, international influences, and what it took to stand up to the opposing hatred.
Episode 1Jul 8, 20262021In this episode, Takatāpui scholar Professor Elizabeth Kerekere and gender studies professor, Professor Chris Brickell trace the journey from pre-colonial identity to culture building and urban migration and ask what this history can teach us about who we are today.
Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986 - Coming soonJul 6, 202682Forty years ago, on 9 July 1986, the Homosexual Law Reform Act ended the threat of prosecution for gay men and opened the door for progress - a watershed in Aotearoa New Zealand's human rights history.
Rights & Realities: Remembering 1986 is a new five-part series that looks at the events leading up to the passing of Labour MP Fran Wilde’s Bill, and beyond, through the voices of activists, polit
