NewsHub 25 February 2019
Family First Comment: It’s disturbing that some politicians want to ignore biological reality and, in the process, bring about confusion and ambiguity. For politicians and the state to be manipulating birth certificates in these ways is deeply concerning.

The Government has put the brakes on a key change to birth certificates that would make it easier for people to change their sex.

The proposed law would have allowed people to change the sex on their birth certificates based on how they identify themselves – removing the need for medical evidence of a gender change.

But Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin said on Monday that the public needs more input before the Government moves on the bill.

The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill “began as a simple measure to update the previous legislation and develop new digital and online channels to access births, deaths and marriages information,” Ms Martin said.

“However, significant changes were made to the Bill by the select committee around gender self-identification and this occurred without adequate public consultation. This has created a fundamental legal issue.”

The decision to halt the law change has been welcomed by Family First New Zealand, with national director Bob McCoskrie saying it’s “disturbing that some politicians want to ignore biological reality and, in the process, bring about confusion and ambiguity”.

“For politicians and the state to be manipulating birth certificates in these ways is deeply concerning,” he added.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/government-halts-proposed-law-for-changing-sex-on-birth-certificates.html 

Bill making it easier for trans people to update birth certificate deferred
NZ Herald 25 February 2019
A bill that would make it easier for trans people to change to change their gender on birth certificates had been deferred due to poor public consultation and legal concerns.

Internal Affairs minister Tracey Martin today announced she had deferred the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill.

The bill had previously faced strong opposition by conservative, religious and feminist groups who had challenged whether enough thought had gone into the consequences of the move and what it would mean for women’s prisons and refuges.

In a statement, Martin said significant changes had been made to the bill by the select committee around gender self-identification and stakeholders had not been given adequate opportunity to make submissions on this.

These significant changes which meant people would no longer have to apply to the Family Court and provide medical evidence showing they changed their physical attributes had “occurred without adequate public consultation” and had “created a fundamental legal issue”, she said.

“It is disturbing that some politicians want to ignore biological reality and, in the process, bring about confusion and ambiguity. A birth certificate is a historical record based on fact – not a political tool to further an ideology,” national director Bob McCoskrie said.
READ MORE: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12207173

Changing sex on birth certificates: Both sides of the debate
NewsHub 26 February 2019 
The Government’s decision to halt a proposed law for changing sex on birth certificates has stoked reactions from both sides of the spectrum.

Under the proposed law, people would be allowed to change the sex on their birth certificate based on how they identify themselves – removing the need for medical evidence of a gender change.

But Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin said on Monday the public needs more input before the Government can move on the bill, which had self-identification clauses added to it at Select Committee.

The NZ First MP said it would be a substantial change from the current Family Court process that requires evidence of medical treatment before sex can be changed on a birth certificate, hence the Government’s decision to put the brakes on the bill.

Family First New Zealand, a conservative Christian lobby group, expressed support over the Government’s decision to halt the law change, with national director Bob McCoskrie saying: “For politicians and the state to be manipulating birth certificates in these ways is deeply concerning.”

He pointed to the Department of Internal Affairs’ definition of a birth certificate, which says it’s an “official document containing registered information about a person’s birth as at the date of issue”.

“A birth certificate is a historical record based on fact – not a political tool to further an ideology,” Mr McCoskrie said.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/changing-sex-on-birth-certificates-both-sides-of-the-debate.html