Gay rights in New Zealand

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Homosexual sex has been legal in New Zealand since the passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. In 1989, the Crimes Act was changed to include the provisions of the Homosexual Law Reform Act. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was outlawed by the Human Rights Act 1993, although the New Zealand government had an exemption from its provisions, due to expire in 1999.

In the 1990s, the Hero Parade was held annually in Auckland. It was a significant public event which was publicised throughout New Zealand, and which created a significant amount of attention during the period when the Parade was held (1992-2001). The Hero Festival continues but it does not attract as much attention, because there are no longer any Parades.

Contents

[edit] Members of Parliament

Chris Carter, a Labour MP, became the first openly gay MP when he came out shortly after the 1993 election. He lost his seat in 1996, but won it again in 1999 and became New Zealand's first openly gay cabinet minister in 2002.

Tim Barnett was the first MP to be elected as an openly gay man, in the 1996 election.

Maryan Street was New Zealand's first openly lesbian woman elected in the 2005 election. (However, National's Marilyn Waring had preceded Street, and while she was outed at one point, Waring's strong pro-choice identification and vocal feminism overshadowed her lesbianism, which was then ignored. Since she left Parliament in 1984, Waring has more openly acknowledged her sexual orientation.)

Georgina Beyer became the first transsexual mayor in the world when she became the Mayor of Carterton in 1995. In 1999 she became the world's first transsexual MP.

In 2005, Chris Finlayson became the first openly gay National MP, elected to Parliament on his party's MMP party list in New Zealand's 2005 General Election. In late July 2006, Labour list candidate Charles Chauvel became an MP through the resignation of list MP Jim Sutton. Finlayson and Chauvel are both lawyers.

[edit] Legal precedents

In 1994, the New Zealand High Court ruled that post-operative transsexuals could marry as their new sex.

[edit] Legislation

In 1998, several key pieces of legislation were introduced which would have affected discrimination against gay people. The Defacto Property Bill gave legal status to de facto couples, but did not apply to same sex couples, and the Human Rights Amendment Bill was intended to exempt the government permanently from the Human Rights Act. These were not passed before the Government changed in 1999. The new Government dropped the previous Bills, then passed the Property (Relationships) Act, which gave de facto couples, whether opposite or same sex, the same property rights as existed for married couples on the break-up of a relationship. The Human Rights Amendment Act was also passed to apply the Human Rights Act to government activities, and also to create a new ability for the Courts to "declare" legislation inconsistent with the Human Rights Act. The Royal New Zealand Navy and the Police were amongst many government agencies that adopted "gay-friendly" policies.

The Civil Union Act of 2004 established the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The Act is very similar to the Marriage Act with "marriage" replaced by "civil union". The following year, the Relationships (Statutory References) Act, was passed to remove discriminatory provisions from most, but not all, legislation. There has been considerable antipathy toward Don Brash, former New Zealand National Party Leader of the Opposition, from the New Zealand gay community, because of his connections to the Exclusive Brethren sect, which was later revealed to have covertly interfered with the 2005 New Zealand general election because of its opposition to lesbian and gay relationship recognition laws.

New Zealand does not have specific transgender anti-discrimination laws, although New Zealand's anti-discrimination laws are now thought to cover members of the trans communities. The Human Rights Commission in New Zealand said in 2005 that it considers transgendered people to fall within the definition of sex discrimination, and would accept complaints from trans-people. Georgina Beyer had a Human Rights (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill ready for debate in Parliament as a member's bill in 2004. However, on August 16, 2006, New Zealand's Solicitor-General issued an opinion that ruled that transgendered people were covered under the 'sex discrimination' clause of the Human Rights Act 1993. The Solicitor-General plays a pivotal role in determining the interpretation of the law for government agencies, and Georgina Beyer said when withdrawing her Bill "that's good enough for me".

As for adoption law reform, government white papers and Law Commission Reports have already suggested inclusive reform is advisable. As lesbian/gay New Zealanders already have access to most other legal parenting responsibilities and rights, this will represent a final frontier before it is ultimately crossed.

In January 2006, news headlines were made by a sperm bank's policy of refusing donations from gay men. Homosexual men are also not allowed to give blood. In March 2006, both of these policies were amended. Reportedly, too, some heterosexual male sperm donors have vetoed the use of their gametes for lesbians who seek artificial insemination [1].

In March 2006, Brian Tamaki alleged that pre-colonial Maori speared any takatapui (Maori gay men) that openly professed their desires, but did it on John Banks' Radio Pacific talkback programme, as opposed to Maori media. [2]

[edit] Adoption

On May 21, 2006, Green List MP Metiria Turei raised the issue of gay adoption, arguing that New Zealand's Adoption Act 1955 didn't meet the complexities of contemporary New Zealand society. She argued that lesbian and gay prospective parents should be enabled to legally adopt. As they already have access to reproductive technologies, fostering and guardianship responsibilities and rights, this may lead to an increased profile for that debate. [3]. Her Adoption (Equity) Bill is currently within Parliament's private members bill ballot, waiting to be drawn and debated.

[edit] Gay publications

[edit] Gay festivals

  • Hero Party and Hero Parade, Auckland, starting 1991.
  • Devotion, Wellington, starting 1991.

[edit] Bibliography

  • New Zealand Law Commission: Adoption: Options for Reform: Wellington: New Zealand Law Commission Preliminary Paper No 38: 1999: ISBN 1-877187-44-5

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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Gay rights in Oceania

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Polynesia

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