Queer Endurance in Defiance called a Cuba Street rally to oppose reviving NZ First’s bill and celebrate a High Court victory over puberty blocker restrictions.
Wellington campaigners are urging incoming MPs to let NZ First’s gender definitions bill stay lapsed. Queer Endurance in Defiance says the proposal would harm trans and intersex people and is calling on MPs from across the House to oppose its reinstatement.
The group and its allies announced a rally for noon on Sunday 15 November at the Bucket Fountain on Cuba Street, with speeches, chants and a performance. The gathering was also planned as a celebration of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa’s (PATHA) successful High Court challenge to restrictions on new puberty blocker prescriptions.
WHAT THE BILL WOULD CHANGE
NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft’s member’s bill passed its first reading on 20 May. It would amend the Legislation Act 2019 to define “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as “an adult human biological male”. Those definitions would generally apply across New Zealand legislation unless a specific law said otherwise. The bill’s explanatory note says the change would improve legal certainty and protect sex-based rights.
The select committee received more than 40,000 written submissions and heard from Marcroft before Parliament dissolved on 1 October. The bill lapsed at dissolution. The incoming House can vote to reinstate it at the select committee stage.
A COURT WIN FOR TRANS HEALTHCARE
In a separate case brought by PATHA, the High Court on 21 October set aside regulations that restricted new puberty blocker prescriptions for young people with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. The Ministry of Health says clinicians can prescribe them following a comprehensive assessment. Queer Endurance in Defiance says it will oppose any renewed attempt to impose the restrictions.
