Government says civil union bill not about strident minority

The Civil Union and omnibus Recognition of Relationships bills will be tabled in Parliament on Monday. MAGGIE TAIT reports.

The Labour MP fronting the Civil Union Bill says he would have preferred a civil union over marriage, had it been available to him.

When Associate Justice Minister David Benson-Pope married Jan Flood in 1989 they had already been living together, as about one in five New Zealanders do today.

"There are a number of people in the community, myself included, who, if this option had been available, would have chosen a civil union rather than marriage," he told NZPA.

A civil union was attractive because it was not loaded with religious associations and other connotations about the way marriage was.

"I'm not (religious) but I happen to be married because I guess I made the decision that a lot of politicians do, to remove barriers."

The bill aims to provide the option of legal recognition of de facto relationships for people, including gays and lesbians.

Mr Benson-Pope says it will not have any effect on the institution of marriage as critics, such as Palmerston North Catholic Bishop Peter Cullinane, have claimed.

"I can't see any way in which this bill can be claimed to degrade or devalue marriage," he says.

"What it does is provide a choice for people who can't or don't wish to marry to have their relationship properly recognised in law."

The legislation will protect against human rights litigation based on such couples getting different treatment from married people, he says.

Many de facto relationships are as stable as marriages.

Census statistics show that 336,591 New Zealanders in 2001 identified themselves as having a partner, but not being legally married.

Of 20,690 marriages in 2002, 7526 involved the remarriage of one or both partners. That year there were 10,300 dissolution orders.

That marriage has been held up as the ideal relationship grates with the Dunedin South MP.

"I think we shouldn't build marriage up as something that it ain't," he says.

"We know that one in three marriages aren't a first time marriage, we know and regret the quite high level of marital breakdown in this country.

"That's unfortunate, but does indicate that marriage is not the long-term stable relationship that it once was, right or wrong."

He said the changes reflected what was happening in society and the new legislation would provide for many heterosexual people.

Homosexuals have welcomed the idea of legal recognition of their relationships, while church groups have complained that it allows them a backdoor to marriage.

However, Mr Benson-Pope thinks that that part of the debate has been blown out of proportion.

"I think it is unfortunate this has been given a gay slant.

"I've asked my colleagues (gay MPs Chris Carter and Tim Barnett) to leave it to this office to talk about the bills simply because -- while I don't deny them their rights and their depth of feeling -- the fact of the matter is, this is predominantly about human rights, not gay rights or heterosexual rights."

Mr Benson-Pope said the Government's approach was even-handed.

"I've heard the accusation that all we're doing is pandering to a minority. Well, we're not. I think we are probably talking about a majority when you look at the numbers."

Bishop Cullinane has criticised the Government over the bill and has said some types of discrimination were necessary -- to acknowledge differences.

But Mr Benson-Pope says discrimination remains.

"We are acknowledging that discrimination against gay couples will continue in that we are not permitting gay marriage.

"But I don't think you can reasonably accuse us of discriminating against people by allowing someone else to have a choice that they make independently recognised."

While debate around the Civil Unions Bill was likely to be strong, Mr Benson-Pope did not think there would be as much concern over changes contained in the Recognition of Relationships Bill.

That bill will amend about 100 pieces of legislation, mainly expanding definitions and including civil unions and de facto relationships.

"That's a response to the needs of our human rights legislation, the bill of rights and so on; there is a lot of discrimination on our statute books that needs to be removed. End of conversation."

Types of law that would be affected by the bill included estate law, superannuation, retirement, life insurance, real estate, trusts, and income tax.

"It really is a nuts and bolts bill and I don't think any reasonable person will object to any of the measures in that bill."

It will provide rights and protections for couples -- for example allowing a partner to be next of kin and make important decisions.

"I don't know about you but if I were in hospital on life support I'd want my partner to be making decisions about what happened to me.

"I think most New Zealanders would go that way and for that not to be legally possible for the partner of the person must be a shattering experience."

While the Civil Union Bill is a government bill, MPs are allowed a conscience vote, meaning they do not have to follow the party line.

Mr Benson-Pope is confident it will pass.

"I think there is widespread support in the house for it."

Other details in the bill include:

* Civil unions from other countries would not be recognised because of the difficulty of dealing with different methods and rules;

* Leaving a civil union would be similar to divorce -- living apart for two years and then signing declarations;

* People can not be in a civil union and be married but they can move between the two institutions -- a move that Mr Benson-Pope was not considering for his marriage.

"I don't know if I'll bother now. I'd like to talk to my wife first."

Time-line of events leading to the Civil Union Bill, which will be tabled in Parliament on Monday.

August 10, 1993:

* Adoption of the Human Rights Act 1993 in which sexual orientation was recognised as a ground of discrimination.

On-going since 1993:

* Adoption of new legislation and legislative amendments that afford legal recognition to same-sex and opposite-sex de facto couples (such as the Domestic Violence Act 1955, Holidays Act 1981, Life Insurance Act 1908, Property (Relationships) Act 1976, Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act and War Pensions Act)

August 1, 1999:

* Ministry of Justice releases a discussion paper on issues relating to same-sex couples.

December 31, 1999:

* Completion of the Consistency 2000 exercise where departments reviewed legislation they administered for consistency with the Human Rights Act.

July 1, 2000:

* Results of Ministry of Justice discussion paper published.

May 14, 2001:

* Cabinet agrees in principle that same-sex couples should be treated the same as married and de facto opposite sex couples for social assistance purposes.

September 3, 2001:

* Cabinet agrees in principle that neutral laws on relationships, whether married, opposite sex or same-sex de facto, should be applied across the board.

2002:

* Labour Party election manifesto announces commitment to introducing civil union legislation.

September 2001 to April 2003:

* Ministry of Justice, in consultation with relevant departments, reviews all statutes and regulations to identify legislative provisions that could potentially discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation and marital status.

May 19, 2003

* Cabinet agrees to make legislative amendments to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or marital status that is unjustifiable in terms of section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

* Cabinet also agrees that there should be a civil union registration scheme to provide a mechanism for adult couples to register their relationship.

May to November 2003:

* Ministry of Justice, in consultation with relevant departments, finalises the proposed contents of the Recognition of Relationship Bill and identifies likely impacts of the proposed legislative changes, including fiscal, gender, social, disability and human rights impacts.

December 2003 to May 2004:

* Drafting of the Recognition of Relationships Bill and Civil Union Bill.

- NZPA