Advertisement

Nine hundred and twenty six same sex couples were married in New Zealand in the year since the successful implementation of changes to the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act.

Provisional figures released yesterday show 1 quarter of same sex marriages were Australian (237), 532 of the 926 were New Zealanders, more than 200 of this figure were couples that changed the form of their relationship from a civil union to a marriage

“We are seeing continued national and international interest by same sex couples in getting married in New Zealand. Almost 400 overseas couples have come to New Zealand to get married, which is great for our tourism industry says Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery.

Advertisement

Montgomery goes on to say “Overall, we are really pleased the implementation of the changes to the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act has gone so well.

“Couples intending to get married, need to fill out a notice of intended marriage form and then one of the couple needs to bring the form to a Registry Office, make a statutory declaration in front of a Registrar of Marriages and pay the fee.  Births, Deaths and Marriages, and our agents have issued a number of marriage licences for same sex couples which are valid for three months.”

The Figures

Female-Female = 520 (of these 119 were a change of relationship from civil union)

  • 333 couples from New Zealand
  • 118 couples from Australia
  • 11 couples from China
  • nine couples from Singapore
  • seven couples from United Kingdom

Male-Male = 406 (of these 95 were a change of relationship from civil union)

  • 199 couples from New Zealand
  • 120 couples from Australia
  • 17 couples from China
  • six couples from Thailand
  • six couples from the United Kingdom

Civil Unions = 66 (equivalent period 2012/13 = 331)

  • 15 were female couples
  • 13 were male couples
  • 38 were male/female couples

Article | Tux Hika. Photo | Rob & Vinnie Sykes Shot by Sadie and Co

Advertisement