Now that a bill to legalise same gender marriage passed its final reading in New Zealand’s Parliament, a Tongan MP, Dr Sitiveni Halapua, says it’s difficult to say whether it will happen in Tonga.
Halapua says there needs to be a conversation about marriage equality in the region.
David Panuelo – a senator from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, while he did not explicitly support similar legislation in the federation, where homosexuality is legal but taboo – used a speech at the recent Pacific Forum Leaders meeting in Wellington to argue for moving closer to gender equality in the Pacific.
Several Pacific leaders have ruled out passing similar laws.
The Cook Islands prime minister, Henry Puna, says his government will not be following New Zealand’s move.
Puna says the Cook Islands will not stray from its core values as a Christian nation, including its tradition of upholding the union of a man and a woman in the sight of God.
Samoa Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, and the Fiji Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, have told local media that same-sex marriage will not be considered because it is against religious beliefs.
Devon Kula from the Papua New Guinea Youth advocacy group, The Voice, says homosexuality is still taboo to speak about, so discussing same-sex marriage is likely a long way off.
The leader of the Anglican Church of Polynesia is calling for an open debate about same-sex marriage when church leaders meet in Suva next month.
Archbishop Winston Halapua says it’s important the church responds to changes in public opinion and that it is not static.
Archbishop Halapua has told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat the discussion needs to take place.
Source