Collins Judith: Royal Succession Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCollins Judith: Royal Succession Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 02 July 2013. Volume:691;Page:11444. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice):I moveThat the Royal Succession Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice and Electoral Committee to consider the bill. The Royal Succession Bill will make three changes to modernise the historic rules of royal succession. The changes better reflect today’s values while still preserving the important traditions of the monarchy.Firstly the bill will ensure that royal succession is no longer dependent on a person’s gender. Secondly it will remove the bars that prevent a person married to a Roman Catholic from possessing or succeeding to the Crown. Thirdly the bill will remove the rule that all descendants of King George II require the Sovereign’s consent to marry. Instead only the first six in line to the throne will need consent.The first change will mean that the rules of succession are gender-neutral. An elder daughter will be able to precede a younger son in the line of succession. This will update the rules of succession in a crucial aspect removing the outdated rule of male superiority in the line of succession. This change will apply to any children born after 28 October 2011. It will therefore apply to the child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge due to be born in July. This has been agreed by all of the 16 realms that share Her Majesty the Queen as head of State.The bill will also remove the current restrictions that prevent a person married to a Roman Catholic from succeeding to or possessing the Crown. The current restriction does not apply to other faiths. The heir to the throne may succeed to the throne if married to a person of any other faith or of no faith at all. This anomaly can no longer be justified. This change will apply to all marriages where the person concerned is still alive. Some people will be reinstated into the line of succession as a result.Finally the current rule that all descendants of King George II must seek the Sovereign’s consent to marry will be removed. It will be replaced with a rule that this requirement applies to the first six in line to the throne. The current rule regarding consent to marry applies to many hundreds perhaps thousands of descendants. Many of them would not have been aware that they needed the king or queen’s permission to marry. Their marriages may be legally void as a result. This bill will correct this situation. These marriages will be validated for all purposes other than succession provided they meet certain criteria.I should note that the changes to the bill do not mean that a Roman Catholic will be able to accede to or hold the throne. The separate rule that the king or queen is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England will remain; so will the requirement that the Sovereign swear an oath to uphold the Protestant religion.Changes to the rule of royal succession require the agreement of each of the 16 realms as the Queen is head of State of each of them in their own right. In order to maintain this the rules of succession must be consistent across the realms. Most of the changes were agreed between the realms at a meeting coinciding with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth on 28 October 2011. Further changes were agreed through later discussions among the realms.New Zealand has played an essential role in coordination among the realms and the Government wants to thank the Clerk of the Executive Council who has been undertaking this role for her endeavours in this respect.A bill changing the laws of succession is currently proceeding through the UK Parliament. That bill will not however automatically apply to New Zealand. Separate legislation is needed in New Zealand to achieve the same changes to the rules ofsuccession in New Zealand law. Our Royal Succession Bill is consistent with the United Kingdom’s Succession to the Crown Act.In closing it is important that our constitutional institutions such as the monarchy retain and maintain their history and traditions. But it is also important that the rules that govern these institutions evolve to reflect the times in which we live and this bill will allow this to happen. New Zealand has a grand tradition of removing undue discrimination in its underpinning legal framework—most notably by being the first country in the world to give women the right to vote.This bill builds on this proud history and tradition as well as meeting our commitments to the other realms. I commend this bill to the House.