Georgina Beyer

Georgina Beyer MNZM JP (November 1957 – 6 March 2023) was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who represented Wairarapa in the Parliament of New Zealand from 1999 to 2005, after serving as mayor of Carterton from 1995 to 1999. Beyer was the world's first openly transgender mayor, and the world's first openly transgender member of parliament. As a member of the Labour Party Beyer supported progressive policies including prostitution law reform, civil unions, anti-discrimination laws, and the promotion of Māori rights. She resigned in 2007, and, in 2014, unsuccessfully stood for election on behalf of the Mana Party.

Georgina Beyer
MNZM JP
Beyer in 2020
Member of New Zealand Parliament for Labour Party List
In office
17 September 2005 – 14 February 2007
Succeeded byLesley Soper[n 1]
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wairarapa
In office
27 November 1999 – 17 September 2005
Preceded byWyatt Creech
Succeeded byJohn Hayes
20th Mayor of Carterton
In office
1 November 1995 – 8 March 2000
DeputyBrian Cameron
Preceded byBarry Keys
Succeeded byMartin Tankersley
Personal details
Born(1957-11-00)November 1957
Wellington, New Zealand
Died6 March 2023(2023-03-06) (aged 65)
Wellington, New Zealand
Political partyMana Movement (2014)
Other political
affiliations		Labour (1999–2007)
RelationsGeorge Bertrand (grandfather)
ParentColin Beyer (stepfather)

Early life

Born in 1957 at Wellington Hospital to Noeline (née Tamati) and Jack Bertrand and assigned male at birth, she was named after her grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel George Bertrand, who was second in command in the Māori Battalion. Her parents were living in Hataitai at the time of her birth.[1] She was of European and Māori (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Raukawa, and Ngāti Porou) descent. Her mother had a second child with her first husband in December 1958, who was placed for adoption. Beyer was sent to live with her grandparents on their farm in Taranaki during this second pregnancy. Her parents divorced by 1962.[1]

Her mother married again in 1962. Her mother's second husband was Colin Beyer, a recent law school graduate.[2] The couple moved to Upper Hutt. Beyer, now aged four and a half years, returned to live with her mother and stepfather. Her brother was born in December 1963.[3] Beyer attended Upper Hutt Primary School and from age seven, after the family moved to the Wellington suburb of Crofton Downs, Ngaio School.[4] With marital problems developing between her mother and her stepfather, Beyer was sent to Wellesley College boarding school, where she attempted suicide amid feelings of rejection by her parents.[5] From Form 2, she attended the school as a day pupil, as the hostel had closed.[6] After her parents' marriage ended in 1971, financial constraints meant that a private school was no longer affordable, and Beyer attended Onslow College in Form 3.[7] Beyer then moved with her mother and brother to Papatoetoe to be near family and friends, with Beyer attending Papatoetoe High School. Before enrolment, a legal surname change by deed poll from "Bertrand" to "Beyer" meant that the difference in family name did not have to be explained at school. It was also seen as socially advantageous for Beyer to be linked to her successful stepfather.[8] Beyer began acting while at that school and decided to make a career out of it, leaving school at 16 (against her mother's will).[9]

Beyer lived in Australia for some time, and in 1979 experienced a traumatic sexual assault in Sydney; she felt unable to seek help from the police, which led her to start thinking about a political career.[10][11] On her return to New Zealand she began seeking work as an actor with increasing success, culminating in a GOFTA award nomination for best female performance for the television drama Jewel's Darl in 1987.[12] In 1984, Beyer underwent gender-affirming surgery.[13][14]

Beyer became a part of the Wellington gay nightclub scene, initially as a singer and drag queen performer, and later as a sex worker.[13][15] After moving to Carterton, in the Wairarapa, she worked as a radio host. Beyer was the local news presenter and part of the inaugural breakfast crew on radio station Today FM, then owned by Paul Henry (whom she later defeated in the 1999 general election).[16][10]

Political career

Carterton

After her return to New Zealand and move to Carterton, Beyer began to take an interest in local politics, first winning election to a local school board. She was elected mayor of Carterton in 1995, which made her the world's first openly transgender mayor,[15][17] as well as the first female mayor of Carterton and first Māori mayor in the Wairarapa district.[18] In 1996, Wellington mayor Mark Blumsky said he thought she was "very good at her job".[19] In 1998 she was re-elected with 90% of the vote.[20] In 2000, she resigned, following her election to Parliament;[21] in 2004 she said resigning was one of her biggest regrets.[22]

Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1999–2002 46th Wairarapa 40[23] Labour
2002–2005 47th Wairarapa 23[24] Labour
2005–2007 48th List 35[25] Labour

At the 1999 general election, Beyer was selected as the Labour Party's candidate for the Wairarapa electorate. She surprised political commentators to win the typically right-leaning electorate, with a 3,033-vote majority over former colleague and National candidate Paul Henry, to become the world's first transgender Member of Parliament.[26] In her maiden speech, Beyer said:[27]

Mr. Speaker, I can't help but mention the number of firsts that are in this Parliament. Our first Rastafarian [Nándor Tánczos]… our first Polynesian woman [Luamanuvao Winnie Laban]… and yes, I have to say it, I guess, I am the first transsexual in New Zealand to be standing in this House of Parliament. This is a first not only in New Zealand, ladies and gentlemen, but also in the world. This is an historic moment. We need to acknowledge that this country of ours leads the way in so many aspects. We have led the way for women getting the vote. We have led the way in the past, and I hope we will do so again in the future in social policy and certainly in human rights.

At the 2002 election, Beyer re-contested Wairarapa for Labour. She was easily re-elected with an increased majority of 6,372 votes.[28]

In 2001, Annie Goldson and Peter Wells co-directed a documentary film about Beyer called Georgie Girl. It received a number of awards including the Excellence in Documentary Award at the 2002 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sydney Film Festival.[29] Interviewed in the film, Beyer said: "I get asked questions no other politician would ever have to answer. Regarding the surgery, you know. 'Did it hurt?', or, 'When you have sex now as a woman, is it different to how you had sex as a man?' Well, honey, obviously."[30]

Views

As an MP, Beyer supported progressive policies such as LGBT rights and Māori rights.[11] In her speech to Parliament on the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, which decriminalised prostitution in New Zealand, she identified herself as a former sex worker. She influenced three MPs to vote for the Bill, which passed with 60 votes for, 59 against with one abstention.[31] She then supported the Civil Union Act 2004, which legalised civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples at a time when gay marriage was still not an option in New Zealand.[32] She confronted followers of Destiny Church on the steps of the Parliament building during their protest against the bill.[33][34][35]

In 2001 Beyer supported the addition of sexual orientation as a ground of prohibited discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993.[11] In 2004 she put forward a member's bill that would add gender identity a prohibited ground.[36] She withdrew the bill after the Solicitor-General provided a legal opinion confirming that gender identity was already covered by existing law.[37]

Beyer supported use of the Māori language by government and public institutions, and was instrumental to the passage of the Māori Language Act 2003.[11] She personally opposed the government's seabed and foreshore legislation of May 2004, but voted in favour of it due to her electorate's preferences.[38] She asked the Labour Party if she could abstain from the vote but was refused; she later said that vowed that "from that time on that I would never be torn between who and what I am as far as my heritage is concerned, and political expediency".[10][18]

Retirement

In early 2004, Beyer announced that she would not stand in the 2005 elections. Tension with her electorate committee, which opposed Beyer's views on the seabed and foreshore, may also have contributed to the decision.[39] In September, Beyer changed her mind. She announced that she would seek a position on the Labour list, without recontesting the Wairarapa seat. She stated that a rally by the conservative Destiny Church the previous month had influenced her decision, as she believed that the message of such rallies must be opposed.[40] A year later, she decided again she would resign.[18]

Beyer resigned from parliament effective from 15 February 2007, and gave her valedictory speech to Parliament on the previous day.[41]

In 2010, Beyer stated that she was struggling financially since leaving politics and was applying for welfare.[42][43]

2014 Mana candidacy for Te Tai Tonga

On 27 July 2014, the Mana Party announced that Beyer would stand for Mana in the Te Tai Tonga constituency in the 2014 New Zealand general election.[44]

Beyer was critical of the Internet-Mana alliance. She expressed her wariness towards Kim Dotcom, saying that "he [was] using his power and position to seek retribution on people who have done him wrong",[45][46] and wished that he would have taken a backseat in campaigning. She further criticised Dotcom for "pulling the strings" behind Internet-Mana.[45] Beyer believed the relationship between the two parties was not mutually beneficial,[47] considering that Mana candidates did not receive equal treatment within the partnership. She said that her campaign ran on "thin air", and later refused to participate on the national tour.[46]

Beyer regarded her 2014 candidacy as "a way of making amends to Māori for voting for the foreshore and seabed bill".[44] After it was unsuccessful, she said her candidacy was a personal favour to her acquaintance Hone Harawira and that she had not expected to win.[48]

Public speaking
Beyer speaking at a conference in 2006

Beyer was a keynote speaker at the first International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Montreal in 2006[49] and the second International Conference in Copenhagen in 2009,[50] as well as for the Egale Canada Human Rights Trust's annual Gala, held in Toronto on 24 September 2010.[51]

Beyer was invited as a speaker to a public event at Oxford University's debating society Oxford Union on 23 October 2018,[52] and at the University of Cambridge's Cambridge Union on 31 October 2018.[53][54] She was the first person of Māori descent to address the Oxford Union.[54]

Honours and awards

In 2000, Beyer was voted Supreme Queer of the Year at the Queer of the Year Awards.[55]

In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Beyer was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to LGBTIQA+ rights.[56] Beyer said of the honour:[33]

I'm proud that [the Queen's Birthday honour] is another feather in the cap for the rainbow community and the transgender community, but it wouldn't have happened without the people of Wairarapa. Rural, conservative people who overlooked my colourful past, looked at the substance of me and gave me a shot.

Kidney transplant and death

Beyer was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2013.[57] During the 2014 election,[58] and until she received a transplant in 2017, she received kidney dialysis four times a day, seven days a week.[59] After receiving her transplant she resumed public appearances.[60]

Beyer died on 6 March 2023 at the Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington, at age 65.[15] Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty, whom she babysat, described her as "a beloved family member, loyal friend, passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and a powerhouse of a local politician", and prime minister Chris Hipkins said she "has blazed a trail that makes it much easier for others to follow".[61] Finance minister Grant Robertson said he will always remember her courage. Former prime minister Helen Clark said her popularity grew from her honesty.[62] A street in a new housing development in Carterton will be named Georgina Beyer Way in her honour.[63]

See also

Notes
  1. Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Beyer resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Soper.

References
  1. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 7.
  2. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 17.
  3. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 18.
  4. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 22.
  5. Beyer & Casey 1999, pp. 31–32.
  6. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 35.
  7. Beyer & Casey 1999, p. 39.
  8. Beyer & Casey 1999, pp. 43–44.
  9. Beyer & Casey 1999, pp. 46–48.
  10. "Series 2 – Episode 2: Georgina Beyer | Matangireia". Radio New Zealand. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  11. Trafford, Will (6 March 2023). "World's first transgender MP and mayor Georgina Beyer dies aged 65". Te Ao Māori News. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. "Awards | About Face – Jewel's Darl". NZ On Screen: Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. Davis, Andrew (1 October 2008). "Georgina Beyer: From prostitution to Parliament". Windy City Times. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  14. Beyer, Georgina (13 September 1999). "Georgina's day of liberation". Dominion. p. 16. ProQuest 315122006. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  15. "Trailblazing MP Georgina Beyer dies aged 65". 1 News. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. "Paul Henry happiest in Wairarapa". Wairarapa Times-Age. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  17. "Beyer gives up her mayoralty". The Press. 9 March 2000. p. 6.
  18. Gregory, Justin (17 February 2017). "'She's a good chap'". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  19. Green, Suzanne (2 December 1996). "Beyer 'very skilled' – Blumsky". Evening Post. p. 3. ProQuest 314493988. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  20. Joyce, Brian (13 November 1999). "George to Georgina: a transsexual's story". Waikato Times. p. 16. ProQuest 313578508. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  21. "Beyer resigns as Mayor". Evening Post. 8 March 2000. p. 2. ProQuest 314673479. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  22. Katterns, Tanya (30 July 2004). "Beyer lacks backing to vie for old job". The Dominion Post. p. A8. ProQuest 337970568. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  23. "1999 GENERAL ELECTION – OFFICIAL RESULTS AND STATISTICS". ElectionResults.govt.nz. Electoral Commission. 19 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  24. "Official Count Results – Electorate Status". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  25. "2005 GENERAL ELECTION – OFFICIAL RESULTS AND STATISTICS". ElectionResults.govt.nz. Electoral Commission. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  26. Anderson, Atholl; Binney, Judith; Harris, Aroha (19 November 2015). Tangata Whenua: A History. Bridget Williams Books. p. 418. ISBN 978-0-908321-54-4.
  27. Speech published in Out! magazine, issue 520, p 30. Text: page 30 Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine page 32? Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  28. "Official Count Results – Wairarapa – 2002 General Election". Electoral Commission (New Zealand). 10 August 2002. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  29. "Awards | Georgie Girl". NZ On Screen: Iwi Whitiāhua. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  30. Woodward, Suzanne (October 2015). "Being both: gender and indigeneity in two Pacific documentary films". Pacific Journalism Review. 21 (2). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  31. "Trailblazers: Georgina Beyer". The New Zealand Herald. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  32. "MPs vote 65–55 in favour of Civil Union Bill". The New Zealand Herald. 2 December 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  33. "World's first openly transgender mayor and MP, Georgina Beyer, has died". Radio New Zealand. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  34. Williams, Katarina (1 June 2020). "From 'one queen to another' – Georgina Beyer recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours". Stuff. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  35. Neville, Alice (6 March 2023). "Tremendous courage and a sharp wit: Clark, Robertson pay tribute to Georgina Beyer". The Spinoff. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  36. "Transsexual MP Beyer posts gender identity bill". The New Zealand Herald. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  37. "Crown Law opinion on transgender discrimination". New Zealand Government. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  38. Trevett, Claire (27 July 2014). "Georgina Beyer joins Mana Party". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  39. "Bye-bye Ms Beyer". The Southland Times. 6 March 2004. ProQuest 330775358. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  40. Watkins, Tracy (24 September 2004). "Beyer has another change of heart; THE FLIP-FLOP MP". Dominion Post. p. A2. ProQuest 337987553. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  41. "Hansard record of valedictory speech". Parliament New Zealand. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  42. Davison, Isaac (18 August 2010). "Ex-MP heads for dole queue". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  43. "Deborah Hill Cone: Wanted: One jammy appointment". The New Zealand Herald. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  44. "Georgina Beyer to stand for MANA in Te Tai Tonga" (Press release). MANA. 27 July 2014. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  45. Fox, Michael; Fallow, Michael (2 September 2014). "Beyer takes Harawira to task over Dotcom". Stuff. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  46. "Georgina Beyer lashes out at Dotcom, Internet party". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  47. Te Kanawa, Wepiha. "Georgina Beyer reveals reservation over Internet-MANA partnership". Māori Television. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  48. "Georgina Beyer: "Tell Me to Shut Up and Go Away and I'll Scream Even Louder"". Gay Express Magazine. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  49. "Workshop Block 3". 2006 International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  50. "Keynote Speakers". 2009 International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  51. "2010–2011 Egale Canada Annual Report" (PDF). Egale Canada. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  52. Manch, Thomas (17 July 2018). "Former politician Georgina Beyer invited to speak at the Oxford Union". Stuff. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  53. Manson, Bess (12 October 2018). "Georgina Beyer is back and ready for some fighting talk". Stuff. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  54. Herkt, David (13 October 2018). "Georgina Beyer: From boy to woman to warrior". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  55. "Queer honours for Beyer". Waikato Times. 10 July 2000. ProQuest 313597677. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  56. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2020". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  57. "New Zealand: World's first trans MP suffering kidney failure". PinkNews – Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 5 May 2013.
  58. Trevett, Claire. "Georgina Beyer joins Mana Party". NZ Herald. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  59. Manson, Bess (12 October 2018). "Georgina Beyer is back and ready for some fighting talk". Stuff. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  60. "Georgina Beyer is back and ready for some fighting talk". Stuff. 13 October 2018.
  61. "World's first openly transgender MP, Georgina Beyer, dies in New Zealand aged 65". The Guardian. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  62. "Sex worker, survivor, Māori TV star: world's first transgender MP remembered as trailblazer". The Guardian. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  63. Desmarais, Felix (8 March 2023). "Carterton street named after trailblazing mayor Georgina Beyer". 1 News.

Works cited
  • Beyer, Georgina; Casey, Cathy (1999). Change for the Better: The Story of Georgina Beyer. Auckland, NZ: Random House. ISBN 978-1-86941-371-2.

Further reading
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