Benson-Pope David: Relationships (Statutory References) Bill — First Reading 
Benson-Pope David: Relationships (Statutory References) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:618;Page:13951] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I will propose that this bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee. At present the laws of New Zealand differentiate between couples in committed exclusive and stable relationships depending on their marital status with a large number of legal rights and responsibilities accessible only to married couples. However one in every five New Zealanders living in a relationship—some 300000 people—has chosen not to get married. The law does not currently support that choice and furthermore same-sex couples are unable to marry and therefore their relationship is neither formally nor legally recognised. 
The lack of legal recognition for de facto relationships has led to significant difficulties for many couples and there is a genuine and understood sense of injustice. For instance following the death of a person in a de facto relationship the surviving partner is not treated in the same way as those in a married relationship. The wishes of certain de facto partners about a post-mortem examination or inquest unlike those of married partners do not need to be considered. Furthermore if a coroner wants to say something negative about a deceased person the protections provided to married partners do not apply to the de facto partner. Surviving de facto partners are also unable to apply for cremation of their deceased partner’s body and are prohibited when they subsequently die from being buried in the same plot of ground as their deceased partner. 
I am sure that most New Zealanders will agree that the distress felt by surviving de facto partners is unnecessarily compounded by the law’s failure to recognise this form of relationship. There are over 100 other ways in which de facto couples are treated differently by the law. The purpose of the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill is to address that different treatment of couples. Contrary to some reported views the Government’s motivation is not to undermine marriage—far from it. Marriage will remain protected and continue to be solely available to a man and a woman. But we are working to support all committed exclusive and stable relationships. 
Addressing the different treatment of couples and providing for legal recognition of all committed exclusive and stable relationships is important for a number of reasons. The first pressing reason is about relationship discrimination. An examination of New Zealand law has identified a large number of statutes that are potentially discriminatory on the grounds of marital status or sexual orientation. This relationship discrimination is not justified in a free and democratic society and therefore runs contrary to our human rights legislation the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993. 
Under the Human Rights Act it is illegal to discriminate against any person on the basis of his or her sexual orientation in a range of private sector activities such as employment housing education and the provision of goods and services. By consequential amendment it is also unlawful for the Government to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation in all its activities except in some very exceptional circumstances. 
I believe that discrimination on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation runs contrary to that innate sense of fairness that characterises us as a nation. New Zealanders believe in giving each other a fair go and New Zealand is a country where diversity is valued by most and reflected strongly in our national identity. Legally recognising other forms of relationships is a way of acknowledging society’s diversity and people’s personal choices about their relationships while respecting the exclusiveness that some feel about marriage. This encourages a society where diverse stable family arrangements and loving personal relationship commitments can be recognised. 
The third reason for the proposed legislation centres on the possibility of legal challenge to current New Zealand law on the basis of discrimination. The Human Rights Act provides that an individual who alleges that he or she has been discriminated against on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation has recourse to an independent publicly funded complaints mechanism whereby the complaint may be heard and redress provided. This exposes the Government to risks of complaints to the Human Rights Commission cases before the Human Rights Review Tribunal and litigation in the courts. Several complaints have recently been laid with the Human Rights Commission about specific laws that discriminate between married and de facto couples. 
The Government’s current proposals build on several important changes to our domestic laws in the past few years. Since 2000 a number of laws have extended legal recognition to de facto couples including the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2002 the Administration Act 2001 the Family Protection Amendment Act 2001 and the Family Proceedings Act also of 2001. These changes have had a positive impact for people and New Zealand society. Government proposals for recognising relationships will add to those positive changes. 
The Relationships (Statutory References) Bill will ensure that neutral laws on relationships—whether married civil union or de facto—are applied across the statute book and this will be done in three ways. The bill will amend a large number of provisions so that they no longer unjustifiably discriminate on the basis of relationship status. For example regulation 7 of the Cremation Regulations 1973 specifies that only near relatives may apply for the cremation of a body. However the definition of near relative is limited to the wife or husband of the deceased as well as the deceased’s family members. This provision will be amended to include the deceased’s civil union or de facto partner. 
Secondly the bill will repeal some existing discriminatory provisions—for example section 194(3) of the Education Act 1964 which authorises the payment of a boarding allowance to a married man who is obliged to live away from home while holding a temporary teaching position. This provision will be repealed rather than extended to civil union and de facto couples. 
In a few instances the bill will retain some apparently discriminatory provisions that are none the less justified. For example section 7 of the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration (Prescribed Information and Forms) Regulations of 1995 requires the register to record a deceased person’s marital status but not whether he or she was in a de facto relationship. The purpose of this provision is to enable surviving spouses to prove that they are legally free to remarry. Entering a de facto relationship does not require proof that a former partner is dead or has legally terminated the relationship through divorce. The provision will therefore be amended to recognise civil union but not de facto couples. 
Our domestic laws have progressed from decriminalisation to the protection of individuals from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and marital status and now look forward to promoting the broader recognition of the diversity of relationships in law. By encouraging tolerance and understanding the bill respects the diversity of individuals from all backgrounds and enables New Zealand to continue its fine tradition of leading the world in domestic human rights protections. 
So what will the bill mean for New Zealand law? Firstly a greater level of consistency in the way New Zealand laws treat people in different forms of relationships will be achieved with as I said earlier over 1000 potential instances of relationship discrimination being removed. Also the risk of legal challenge on the basis of discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993 will be reduced. The sense of social injustice experienced by couples who are treated as legal strangers will be addressed and New Zealand will join other national and regional States that have legislated for the recognition of same-sex and de facto relationships. I am pleased to recommend this bill to the House.