Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 | |
---|---|
New Zealand Parliament | |
Citation | 2013 No 20 |
Passed by | House of Representatives |
Passed | 17 April 2013 |
Royal assent | 19 April 2013 |
Commenced | 19 August 2013 |
Administered by | Ministry of Justice |
Legislative history | |
Bill title | Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill |
Bill citation | Member's Bill 39 |
Introduced by | Louisa Wall |
Introduced | 26 July 2012 |
First reading | 29 August 2012 |
Second reading | 13 March 2013 |
Third reading | 17 April 2013 |
Committee report | 27 February 2013 |
Related legislation | |
Marriage Act 1955 Civil Union Act 2004 | |
Status: Current legislation |
The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand, which since 19 August 2013, allows same-sex couples to legally marry.
The Act was proposed as a member's bill by MP Louisa Wall in May 2012, and was drawn from the ballot in July of that year. It passed its third reading in the House of Representatives on 17 April 2013, and became law when it received the Royal Assent two days later.
On 14 May 2012, openly lesbian Labour Party MP Louisa Wall (Manurewa) stated that she would introduce a Member's bill, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, allowing adult couples of any gender to marry, including same-sex and different sex couples. [1] The bill was submitted to the members' bill ballot on 30 May 2012. [2] Openly gay Green Party MP Kevin Hague (list) also submitted a same-sex marriage bill, the Marriage (Equality) Amendment Bill, to the ballot on 24 June. [3] Wall and Hague stated that they planned to work together in support of whichever bill came up first. [4]
On 26 July 2012, a ballot draw of five members' bills saw Wall's Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill drawn and introduced. [5] [6] In its introductory form, the bill would insert a definition of "marriage" into Section 2 of the Marriage Act 1955 as "the union of 2 people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity"; it would also replace Schedule 2 – the list of prohibited degrees of marriage – with a new schedule using gender-neutral terms.
Prime Minister John Key had stated that he would support any same-sex marriage bill in its first reading initially, [7] but after Louisa Wall's bill was drawn Key stated that he would support it through all stages. [8] Opposition leader David Shearer also declared his support for Wall's bill and said that Labour Party MPs would be allowed to cast conscience votes. [6] New Zealand First announced it would abstain, and that the legalisation of same-sex marriage should be put to a referendum. [9] However, at the first reading, all New Zealand First MPs opposed the bill, largely because abstentions reduce the majority needed for a bill to pass. [10]
On 29 August 2012, the bill passed its first reading on a conscience vote with 80 votes in favour, 40 votes against, and one abstention. The vote was originally recorded as 78 votes in favour and three abstentions, due to the National Party whips forgetting to cast proxy votes in favour for John Banks and Peter Dunne (both National Party whips voted against the bill and therefore were in the wrong lobby to cast votes in favour). [11] [12]
The bill was subsequently referred to the Government Administration Select Committee for further consideration and public input. [12] Public submissions for the bill closed on 26 October 2012, with 21,533 written submissions received, not including the six submissions received that were deemed inappropriate or offensive. Of the submissions, 2,898 were unique submissions, while the remaining 18,635 were form submissions. [13] In her submission to the select committee, Bill author Louisa Wall said she believed "hang ups" over homosexuality, especially among older New Zealanders, were behind opposition to the bill. [14] Oral submissions were heard by the committee in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch from 220 submitters. [15]
The committee reported back on 27 February 2013, the day before the 28 February deadline given, recommending that the bill proceed with amendments. [15] [16] The amendments included:
The second reading of the bill in Parliament took place on 13 March 2013. During the debate, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters moved that the second reading motion (That the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill be read a second time) be amended to read That a referendum be held at the time of the next general election to decide whether the Marriage Act 1955 should be amended to recognise marriage between 2 people, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The proposed amendment to the motion (Supplementary Order Paper 182) was defeated 83 votes opposed to 33 votes in favour. [17]
As is procedure, Members of Parliament first voted on whether the select committee amendments be accepted before proceeding to the second reading vote. The amendments were agreed to, 66 votes in favour to 21 opposed. [17]
The bill passed its second reading, 77 votes in favour to 44 opposed. [17] [18] Four National MPs who voted in support of the bill at the first reading voted in opposition at the second reading, while the sole abstention from the first reading voted in support of the bill.
The Committee of the Whole House, where members of parliament debate and vote on the bill clause-by-clause and propose amendments, took place on 27 March 2013.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and independent MP Brendan Horan introduced two supplementary order papers (SOPs), numbers 187 and 188 which seek to amend the legislation in question and arrange for a binding referendum on the question. These were replicas of two earlier SOPs, numbers 182 and 183, which were debated and defeated during the second reading. [20] [21] On the day of the vote, conservative Labour MP William Sio moved SOP 202, which sought to uphold the right of individual celebrants to refuse to preside over same-sex weddings, while National MP Tim Macindoe sought to introduce SOP 203, which would widen the 'right to discriminate' on the basis of service provision to conservative Christian caterers, bakers, wedding photographers, public registrars and others engaged in secular occupations who objected to same-sex marriage. [22] [23]
The first two amendments were declared as out of order under Standing Order 298(1); [nb 1] the other two were voted down by the House (SOP 202 by 22 votes to 88, SOP 203 by 36 votes to 80). The bill passed the committee stage 77 votes to 43 – the same as the second reading with the exception that Gerry Brownlee (National) did not vote and could not cast a proxy vote. [24] [25]
External videos | |
---|---|
Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill -- Third Reading vote announcement and celebration In The House NZ via YouTube | |
Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill -- Maurice Williamson's "big gay rainbow" speech Television New Zealand via YouTube |
The third and final reading took place on the evening of 17 April 2013. [26] The day before, it was reported that Parliament's public gallery had been completely booked out for the reading. Initial requests to open the Grand Hall immediately outside the debating chamber to cater for the overflow were declined by the Speaker, leaving potentially over 1000 supporters and opponents to overflow onto the Parliament grounds in forecast rain, [27] but later it was decided to open the Legislative Council Chamber with a video link to cater for an extra 200 people.
The bill passed its third reading, 77 votes in favour to 44 votes opposed – the same as the second reading. [26] [28] The only MPs changing their votes were David Bennett (National, Hamilton East) who opposed the first two readings but voted for the third and final reading; and Rino Tirikatene (Labour, Te Tai Tonga) who support the first two readings but not the final one. [26] Despite being one of six openly gay MPs himself, Attorney-General Chris Finlayson voted against the bill, declaring his opposition to state involvement in the institution of marriage as the reason. [29]
After presiding Speaker Lindsay Tisch read out the result of the vote, the public gallery broke into singing "Pokarekare Ana", a Māori love song ( waiata ), later being joined by some MPs on the floor. [30] [31]
Louisa Wall described the vote as a "World Cup final", and thanked supporters. [32]
During the third reading debate, Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson (National, Pakuranga) took a five-minute call and gave a jovial speech, pointing out logical fallacies in some of the more aggressive statements by opponents – the last of which he disproved that the bill was cause of the recent drought conditions affecting New Zealand, by pointing out that it was raining in his electorate that morning, complete with a "big gay rainbow". The speech became a YouTube hit, and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times over the next few days, featuring on high-profile news sites like The Huffington Post and Gawker. The New York Times also picked up the story, incorrectly stating that Williamson was "one of New Zealand's only openly gay MPs" (he is actually heterosexual, and married with three adopted children). Williamson said he also received an expenses-paid offer to go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , but he turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. [33]
The bill received the Royal Assent from the Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mateparae, on 19 April 2013 and became an official Act of Parliament, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 20). [35]
The law took effect on 19 August 2013. The Department of Internal Affairs released new application forms for marriages on 12 August 2013, with the added field for each partner's sex, and the option of being listed on the marriage licence and certificate as 'bride', 'bridegroom' or 'partner'. To take into account the three-day stand-down period between the time the marriage licence is applied for and the actual licence being issued, registrars started accepting marriage licence applications on 16 August, allowing licences to be issued and marriages to go ahead on 19 August. Registrars received 31 applications from same-sex couples wishing to marry on 19 August. [36] [37] [38]
Overseas-registered same-sex marriages are also legally recognised in New Zealand since 19 August 2013, as long as one of the spouses is a citizen of New Zealand, another Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland [39] (as with opposite-sex marriages, if neither spouse is a citizen of one of those countries, they must apply to the Family Court to have their marriage fully recognised in New Zealand).
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by the Labour government, which grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom the rights and responsibilities very similar to those in civil marriage. Initially the Act permitted only same-sex couples to form civil partnerships. This was altered to include opposite-sex couples in 2019. Civil partners are entitled to the same property rights as married couples, the same exemption as married couples regarding social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to exercise parental responsibility for a partner's children, as well as responsibility for reasonable maintenance of one's partner and their children, tenancy rights, full life insurance recognition, next-of-kin rights in hospitals, and others. There is a formal process for dissolving civil partnerships, akin to divorce.
Barbara Joy Stewart was a New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament for the New Zealand First party from 2002 to 2008 and again from 2011 to 2017.
William Lindsay Tisch, known as Lindsay Tisch, is a former New Zealand National Party politician.
Civil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act 2004 to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described as very similar to the Marriage Act 1955 with references to "marriage" replaced by "civil union". A companion bill, the Relationships Act, was passed shortly thereafter on 15 March 2005, to remove discriminatory provisions on the basis of relationship status from a range of statutes and regulations. As a result of these bills, all couples in New Zealand, whether married, in a civil union, or in a de facto partnership, now generally enjoy the same rights and undertake the same obligations. These rights extend to immigration, next-of-kin status, social welfare, matrimonial property and other areas. Non-married couples are not however permitted to adopt children, although people in non-marital relationships can adopt as individuals.
This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in New Zealand since 19 August 2013. A bill for legalisation was passed by the House of Representatives on 17 April 2013 by 77 votes to 44 and received royal assent on 19 April. It entered into force on 19 August, to allow time for the Department of Internal Affairs to make the necessary changes for marriage licensing and related documentation. New Zealand was the first country in Oceania, the fourth in the Southern Hemisphere, and the fifteenth overall to allow same-sex couples to marry. Civil unions have also been available for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples since 2005.
New Zealand lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceania, and among the most liberal in the world, with the country being the first in the region to legalise same-sex marriage.
Allen Nathan Guy is a New Zealand former politician of the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005 as a list MP and represented the electorate of Ōtaki after the 2008 election. He served as Minister of Immigration from 2011 to 2013. Guy did not seek re-election at the 2020 election.
The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament that broadly legalised consensual sexual practices between men as well as consensual anal sex regardless of partners' gender. It removed the provisions of the Crimes Act 1961 that criminalised this behaviour. The legislation established a uniform age of consent, setting it at 16 for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow it, the Marriage Amendment Act 2017, passed the Parliament of Australia on 7 December 2017 and received royal assent from Governor-General Peter Cosgrove the following day. The law came into effect on 9 December, immediately recognising overseas same-sex marriages. The first same-sex wedding under Australian law was held on 15 December 2017. The passage of the law followed a voluntary postal survey of all Australians, in which 61.6% of respondents supported legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights have evolved significantly in the past decades in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1993 and the age of consent was equalised to 16 in 2012. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar ruled in April 2013 that same-sex couples have the right to adopt. Civil partnerships have been available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples since March 2014, and in October 2016, Gibraltar voted to legalise same-sex marriage with the Civil Marriage Amendment Act 2016 passing unanimously in Parliament. The law received royal assent on 1 November and took effect on 15 December 2016.
Louisa Hareruia Wall is a New Zealand former double international sportswoman, former politician, and human rights advocate. She represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern from 1989 to 1992 and in rugby union as a member of the Black Ferns from 1995 to 2001, including as a member of the 1991 World Netball Championships runner-up team and 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup winning team.
Jonathan Edgar Joseph Young is a former National Party Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Plymouth electorate. He was first elected in the 2008 general election and served until 2020.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is an Indian-born New Zealand politician and a member of the National Party. He was a Member of Parliament as a list MP from the 2008 election to the 2020 election.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Malta since 1 September 2017 following the passage of legislation in the Parliament on 12 July 2017. The bill was signed into law by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca on 1 August 2017. On 25 August 2017, the Minister for Equality, Helena Dalli, issued a legal notice to commence the law on 1 September. Malta was the first European microstate, the 21st country in the world and the thirteenth in Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide. In 2024, Malta was named one of the best marriage destinations for same-sex couples by a British wedding planning website, and polling suggests that a majority of Maltese people support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Australian state of South Australia are advanced and well-established. South Australia has had a chequered history with respect to the rights of LGBT people. Initially, the state was a national pioneer of LGBT rights in Australia, being the first in the country to decriminalise homosexuality and to introduce a non-discriminatory age of consent for all sexual activity. Subsequently, the state fell behind other Australian jurisdictions in areas including relationship recognition and parenting, with the most recent law reforms regarding the recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption and strengthened anti-discrimination laws passed in 2016 and went into effect in 2017.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2013.
The history of same-sex marriage in Australia includes its express prohibition by the Howard government in 2004 and its eventual legalisation by the Parliament in December 2017. Although a same-sex marriage law was passed by the Australian Capital Territory in 2013, it was struck down by the High Court on the basis of inconsistency with federal law. The Court's decision closed the possibility of concurrent state or territory laws that would allow same-sex marriage where federal law did not. A law legalising same-sex marriage passed the Parliament on 7 December 2017 and received royal assent the following day.
The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which legalises same-sex marriage in Australia by amending the Marriage Act 1961 to allow marriage between two persons of marriageable age, regardless of their gender.