2007. After the 2020 general election, 10% of the elected MPs openly identified as LGBT+, giving New Zealand the highest proportion of 'out' elected representatives in the world. Living conditions New Zealand is frequently referred to as one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world. New Zealand has a visible and open LGBT scene, though small by international standards. Auckland has multiple gay bars, restaurants, clubs, festivals and other venues. Outside Auckland, there are also visible, albeit smaller, LGBT scenes in Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hamilton. Several organisations and publications in New Zealand cater to LGBT people. Pride events Gay pride events are legal in New Zealand and were first held in the 1970s. The Hero Parade, the showpiece of the Hero Festival in Auckland, was held annually between 1992 and 2001. Parades were typically attended by more than one hundred thousand people (and at its height, by as many as two hundred thousand). The Hero Festival continues to this day, usually without a flagship parade. In February 2013, however, Auckland held a pride parade, called the Auckland Pride Festival. Another event is the Big Gay Out, a family event held annually in Auckland at Pt Chevalier's Coyle Park. The numbers of attendees has risen steadily over the past few years and includes appearances from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and many other politicians from centre-left and centre-right parties alike, who show their support for the LGBT community. In Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands Although anti-discrimination laws and laws regarding civil union and same-sex marriage apply in New Zealand, these do not apply in Niue, Tokelau or the Cook Islands due to their separate legislatures. Male homosexual acts are criminalised in the Cook Islands, although the law is not actively enforced. In Niue and Tokelau the sodomy laws were repealed in 2007, when sections that mention buggery were repealed. Summary table See also LGBT in New Zealand LGBT rights in Tokelau LGBT rights in Niue LGBT rights in the Cook Islands LGBT rights in Oceania Same-sex marriage in New Zealand Intersex rights in New Zealand Transgender rights in New Zealand Human rights in New Zealand References Bibliography Philip Webb et al.: Butterworths Family Law in New Zealand: (13th Edition): Wellington: Lexis/Nexis: 2007. New Zealand Law Commission: Adoption: Options for Reform: Wellington: New Zealand Law Commission Preliminary Paper No 38: 1999: Solicitor General's opinion on