Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Sullivan Birth Registration Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Sullivan Birth Registration Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 April 2014. Volume:697;Page:17085. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National):Thank you for the opportunity to speak during the third reading of the Sullivan Birth Registration Bill. During the second reading I acknowledged Rowen Sullivan for her proactiveness towards the bill. I would like to repeat what I said at that time. This bill shows the respect Rowen Sullivan has got for her parents. To set the context the purpose of the bill is to require the Registrar-General of Births Deaths and Marriages to record the details of Rowen Sullivan’s deceased mother on her post-adoptive birth registry entry.Before I go any further I would like to acknowledge Louisa Wall for sponsoring this bill. This is the second bill that has gone through the Government Administration Committee that has been under the name of Louisa Wall. You have championed something that no one has before so I congratulate you on your work and acknowledge all the hard work you did during the progress of this bill. I would also like to echo what my colleague Chris Auchinvole just mentioned and acknowledge the officials who supported us during this process because there were many technical things we were not aware of. We initially thought it might take a few days to sort out this bill but because of a few technical things that were pointed out by the officials it took us a long time. At last I think we have done justice to this bill and Rowen will be pleased with the result. I acknowledge you once again for all your effort.It may be that people will consider this bill to be something of a technical detail and indeed when we saw it before us in the Government Administration Committee we thought that it did have a very technical aspect to it. The reality though is that it also has a very very personal aspect. This is one of those occasions when the only solution available to the applicant was through Parliament. The bill may appear simple. However I can tell you as a member of the select committee that discussed and debated this bill that once we started to progress the legislation there were a number of tricky technical issues we had to think about. Some time back the House passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act. It is that amendment to the definition of “marriage” that has now led to the Sullivan Birth Registration Bill being presented before this House.Before I move to further details of this legislation I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a very important point. At the time that this House was discussing the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill there was a perception being created that I am opposed to the LGBT community. May I share with all of you today that I have no objection to and I am not at all against anyone who is from the LGBT community. I consider all of us to be an equal part of New Zealand society. My religion teaches us “Manas ki jaat sabhe eke pehchanbo.” which means that every human being is equal. I was however against the changing of the definition of “marriage”. Marriage for me was between a man and a woman. However New Zealand has passed a law that allows LGBT people to marry. I am a law-abiding citizen with no personal or hidden agenda against the LGBT community. Therefore I respect and will continue to respect the law that provides for LGBT people to marry the person of their choice. That was a big burden on my chest and I felt it was important for me to share it with my parliamentary colleagues and with New Zealanders.Coming back to the Sullivan Birth Registration Bill had there been the legislation at the time when Diane Sullivan and Doreen Shields wanted to marry each other that would have also allowed them to adopt Rowen and record their respective names as Rowen’s parents. Once again this to me is a person who is an excellent example of how one should bring up one’s children. It was because Rowen was taught the basics of respect that she decided she would go all the way to ensure that the names of both parents were recorded on her birth certificate. To me this investment of time and effort from Rowen speaks volumes for her family culture.The legislation is once again a reminder that the Government has the capacity to impact on the lives of individuals positively and at a very personal level. At the start of my speech I mentioned that the legislation appears to be very simple—probably a minor bureaucratic issue. In some ways that is exactly what it is: a minor bureaucratic issue. However the positive emotional impact that it will have on Rowen and others in similar situations cannot be defined with words. I am sure all of us will agree that every child should have the opportunity to honour their birth parents.There is no doubt that one other thing that this particular bill brings up is the fact that Rowen’s mother conceived through artificial insemination. Thirty years ago this was done anonymously. Today this is not done anonymously and by and large I think that is a very good thing. Openness and transparency are things that are so important to ensure we are equals going forward. With these words I wholeheartedly support this bill and I wish Rowen good luck for her future. Thank you.