Wall Louisa: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWall Louisa: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) — First Reading[Sitting date: 16 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17345. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]LOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa):Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to speak at the first reading of this bill the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 4) for a very specific purpose. The purpose is to give notice that I will be submitting Supplementary Order Paper 432 which will be available today and writing to the chair of the Government Administration Committee to ask that in the submission process consideration be given to the amendment proposed by my Supplementary Order Paper. That amendment is the inclusion of an amendment to the Human Rights Act 1993—in particular an amendment to section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act which currently sets out the prohibited grounds of discrimination. It states as the first ground: “sex which includes pregnancy and childbirth:”. My Supplementary Order Paper will be seeking an amendment that means section 21(1)(a) would read “sex which includes gender identity pregnancy and childbirth:”.This is a technical amendment which has its origins in Georgina Beyer’s member’s bill in 2004 entitled the Human Rights (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill. At the time the Human Rights Commission stated that it confirmed it would accept complaints from transgender people within the definition of “sex” under the Act. In response to Georgina Beyer’s member’s bill the opinion of the Solicitor-General was sought. That opinion was clear that discrimination on the grounds of gender identity fell within the definition of “sex” in section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act. On that basis Georgina Beyer withdrew her member’s bill.In 2008 the Inquiry into Discrimination Experienced by Transgender People by the Human Rights Commission concluded: “there must be no doubt that trans people are protected from discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993. Such a clear signal is necessary if society is serious about reducing the pervasive levels of discrimination against trans people. The Human Rights Commission accepts discrimination complaints from trans people under the ground of sex but notes questions raised by international case law as to whether all forms of discrimination directed against trans people would be considered sex discrimination by New Zealand courts. The Inquiry considers that for the avoidance of any doubt section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1993 should be amended to state clearly that sex includes gender identity.”In the presentation of New Zealand’s national report to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly as part of the second Universal Periodic Review on 27 January this year the Minister of Justice stated—and I quote from paragraph 65—“The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has received complaints from transgender people of discrimination on the basis of disability and sex. Its complaints process provides one way of addressing such discrimination. The Ministry of Health changed its guidelines on availability of gender reassignment surgery in 2011 but work still remains to ensure equitable access to health services and health outcomes for transgender people. The Commission considers that amendment to the grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act to specifically include gender identity would help to clarify some of the issues. The Government’s view is that discrimination on the grounds of gender identity is already prohibited under the Human Rights Act as sex discrimination.”That has been the position of successive New Zealand Governments since the Solicitor-General’s advice was received in 2006. TheCabinet Manual states: “Statutes Amendment Bills are designed as vehicles for technical short and non-controversial amendments to a range of Acts.” The amendment proposed by my Supplementary Order Paper is technical as successive Governments have confirmed that gender identity fallsunder the definition of sex discrimination in section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act. It is a short amendment and it is non-controversial as all parties agree that the proposed amendment will merely clarify what is understood to be the position. This has been confirmed by the Minister of Justice at the beginning of this year.The amendment and inclusion of gender identity under section 21(1)(a) does no more than reflect what the Human Rights Commission does in practice and what Governments since 2006 have asserted is the position. What the amendment does though is make it clear that gender identity is included within the definition of sex discrimination. It therefore would not allow the possibility of an interpretation that is different from the Government position and the understanding of the Human Rights Commission.TheCabinet Manual emphasises that legislation should be drafted in plain English that it should be legally correct and that it should give effect to Government policy. This amendment proposed by my Supplementary Order Paper makes the law clear and does what legislation should do—that is state clearly and directly that gender identity falls within the definition of “sex” in the prohibited grounds of discrimination in section 21(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1993.Nō reiratēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnātātou katoa.