Summarised by Centrist
Benjamin Doyle, New Zealand’s first non-binary MP, delivered a powerful maiden speech addressing trans rights, environmental justice, and global injustices. “Trans lives are taonga,” they declared, tying trans rights to Te Tiriti.
A former teacher and kaupapa Māori researcher, Doyle criticised “profit before people” policies and called for radical change: “We must love and respect Papatūānuku.” Concluding, they recited a Gaza poet’s work, emphasising: “Nobody is free until everybody is free.”