A National MP has talked about being gay in a television interview that he said was prompted by recent comments by Brian Tamaki linking homosexuality to earthquakes.

Paul Foster-Bell, a first-term MP based in Wellington Central, entered Parliament in 2014 but has never spoken publicly about his sexuality.

In an interview with TVNZ's Q&A programme that aired today, Foster-Bell said a number of factors led him to speak out.

"There's been a number of things over recent months, from events in the Middle East with gay people being thrown off buildings, through to even closer to home, gay people being criminalised, being imprisoned and whipped in some of the Pacific nations.

But, actually, it was Brian Tamaki's outburst a few weeks ago that really did make me furious, and it meant that it was time for me, really, to speak up."

Foster-Bell grew up in provincial New Zealand, something he said was a "conservative society".

"I was really lucky to have, actually, very supportive, hard-working and loving parents. But I know, actually, most gay men, as they're growing up, I certainly felt maybe a sense of disappointment from Dad. He always wanted that First XV rugby player, and I was happier with my nose in a book or perhaps helping Mum in the kitchen with some cooking. So I knew I wasn't that person, and that sense of disappointment that kids are very sensitive to, it can be a little bit damaging."

He told Q&A that he was particularly concerned about the effect of Tamaki's comments of young people growing up in the provinces.

Continued below.

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"It's actually throwing petrol on a fire when you send out a message that gay people are very similar to murderers, they're sinners, and they're creating natural disasters. You and I can dismiss that as intelligent adults as just being ludicrous, but for those kids, that's actually a really hurtful thing at an already difficult time in their life."

Before entering politics Foster-Bell was a diplomat, including postings to Saudi Arabia and Iran.

He said if he was openly gay in such places as a diplomat he would need to leave the country, but the person he was with would be a criminal.

"That person could be executed, have parts amputated. It's horrific the treatment of gay people in some countries of the world. So that was a challenge, and that's why for that part of my career I was discreet. That was a necessary level of discretion," he told Q&A.

"But it is worrying when you think if there was a possibility you might fall in love with somebody and that could lead to that person being killed or imprisoned. It's a huge worry."

Foster-Bell said he had held back from taking things further with people he cared for while working as a diplomat, something he said was heart-breaking.

The MP, who said he had been dating someone for about nine months, didn't expect his interview to cause any great surprise to those who knew him in Wellington - he is the vice-patron of Rainbow Wellington, for example. But he said he wanted the message out beyond the capital's "bubble".

"The Opposition have a number of gay MPs, but, actually, it's important that within the team that's running the country we also have that community represented, and I want to take a leadership role there."

In June, Foster-Bell made headlines after facing accusations of poor management after reportedly having 12 staff leave over a period of three years. His relatively high travel and accommodation bill also came under scrutiny.

He now faces a challenge to be National's Wellington Central candidate next year, with a former senior advisor to Prime Minister John Key confirming she will seek the party's nomination, which opens in January.

Nicola Willis currently holds a senior position at Fonterra, and worked for Key from 2006-2011.

Asked in the Q&A interview if that looming challenge contributed to his decision to speak out, Foster-Bell said he had been thinking about going public for more than a year.



- NZ Herald