Ramon Maniapoto & Tim Barnett

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Tim Barnett (born 4 August 1958) has been a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central since 1996, and was the Senior Government Whip. He currently resides with his partner since 2001, Ramon Maniapoto, an Air New Zealand service consultant, in Christchurch, Canterbury. They married at Waitetoko Marae at Lake Taupo in November 2007 during a relaxed ceremony attended by about 300 guests, including a who's who of the Labour Party. Barnett, who wore an ivory coloured shirt with black koru-shaped swirls on it, was escorted down the aisle to a smiling Maniapoto, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, by parliament's Speaker of the House Margaret Wilson.

In his previous Parliament term he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Associate Minister of Justice on human rights issues, the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and the Minister for Social Development. He was also chair of the Justice and Electoral Select Committee.

Born in Rugby, UK, Barnett co-founded (with Ian MCKELLEN and Michael CASHMAN) the gay activist organization Stonewall UK. Five years after emigrating in 1991, he became the first openly gay man to be elected to New Zealand’s parliament.

He has been active in many community-based organizations in New Zealand, including Rainbow Labour, which he helped to found in 1997, and he is a supporter of UniQ, the Queer Students Association at New Zealand universities. He was the Parliamentary promoter of the Prostitution Law Reform Bill, a bill in his name that became law in 2003, and an outspoken supporter of the Civil Union Bill, which became law in 2004.


Tim Barnett has been a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch Central since 1996. He resides with his partner since 2001, Ramon Maniapoto, an Air New Zealand service consultant, in Christchurch, Canterbury. They married at Waitetoko Marae at Lake Taupo in November 2007 during a relaxed ceremony attended by about 300 guests, including a who's who of the Labour Party. Five years after emigrating in 1991, he became the first openly gay man to be elected to New Zealand’s parliament.





At the 2005 general election, Barnett was re-elected with 52.35 percent of the vote and a majority of 6,694.

Source: Queers in History by Keith Stern

Further Readings:

Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals by Keith Stern
Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: BenBella Books (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933771879
ISBN-13: 978-1933771878
Amazon: Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals
Amazon Kindle: Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals

Queers in History is the first comprehensive biographical compendium of important historical and contemporary figures who were/are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. From Egyptian pharaohs, Catholic popes, and Abraham Lincoln to Bishop Gene Robinson, Neil Patrick Harris, and Angelina Jolie, Queers in History brings these figures, from their work to their sexuality, to life.

The hundreds of people whose stories appear in this book are some of the most intriguing personalities of their times: actors and actresses, writers and musicians, businessmen and politicians, scientists and soldiers. But this irresistibly readable encyclopedia intended for gays and straights alike doesn’t just report those details that get left out of the standard biographies; it reveals a fascinating picture of queer society and culture throughout recorded history, from the homosexual traditions practiced by samurai in Japan to the modern struggles for equal rights in America. Sir Ian McKellen offers a foreword.