A rally in the Octagon, Dunedin protesting the member's Bill aiming to define gender. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN A Dunedin woman is concerned by the ‘‘dangerously undemocratic’’ removal of submissions mentioning transgender people from feedback on the government’s controversial gender Bill. The woman, who the Otago Daily Times has agreed not to name, said she was shocked her submission opposing the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill was rejected, as the mention of her transgender partner was regarded as a privacy breach. ‘‘They want to hear from everyday people who are affected by laws that are getting made and hear people’s perspectives on it,’’ said the woman, who plans to amend her submission. ‘‘I think it’s probably incredibly normal to mention that your loved ones are affected by a Bill.’’ The Bill seeks to define the terms ‘‘woman’’ and ‘‘man’’ in New Zealand law. The proposed change would affect how courts interpret the law without obliging anyone to change how they speak or identify. Supporters say it clarifies sex-based rights and reflects biological reality, while those opposed say it threatens transgender, non-binary and intersex peoples’ visibility and rights. The Bill passed its first reading in Parliament in May and was referred to the social services and community select committee, chaired by Southland MP Joseph Mooney. In her submission, seen by the ODT, the woman said she wanted to speak up for all transgender people, ‘‘but especially my partner, who is a trans woman who I love very much’’. Submissions closed early this month and committee staff emailed her on Thursday, saying her submission was being returned as it shared ‘‘personal, private, or medical information about a third party’’. The possibility of amending the submission was not mentioned, she said. ‘‘They were willing to just throw out my whole submission because of that one line, which didn’t name her or anything,’’ she told the ODT. She said she understood the policy’s intention, but felt the risk of privacy breaches was low compared with the ‘‘dangerously undemocratic’’ act of rejecting submissions. ‘‘I don’t think it’s really breaching anyone’s privacy in a serious way for someone to say, ‘I love and care about my partner’.’’ She believed a lot of submissions had been returned on similar grounds and encouraged those impacted to contact the committee secretariat and amend their submission. Southland MP Joseph Mooney. PHOTO: PARLIAMENT Mr Mooney said select committee discussions were confidential until its report was made to the House, but committees were ‘‘always very cautious about anything that would identify third parties, without the third party’s consent’’. Mr Mooney said if people felt their submissions should be accepted ‘‘then contacting the secretariat and working that through to them is the right process’’. He said he was unable to disclose exactly how many submissions were received or returned but said the secretariat communicated as best they could. The select committee’s report to the House is due on November 20. ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz
