'Civil Relationships' a better alternative

“Maxim Institute supports the ‘Civil Relationships Bill’ proposed by Richard Worth to amend the Civil Union Bill. It provides legal certainty for relationships, yet does not create a parallel form of marriage, ” says Maxim Institute Legal Counsel, Nicki Taylor.

“Maxim opposes the Civil Union Bill because it introduces same-sex marriage dishonestly, and does not deal with unjust discrimination as commonly believed” says Nicki Taylor.

“Clarity regarding next-of-kin is important for everybody, not just for those in sexual relationships. The Civil Relationships Bill provides a simple registration system as evidence of next-of-kin and is therefore more inclusive than civil unions.”

Maxim Institute conducted a thorough legal analysis of the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill, discrimination in hospital visitation rights, next-of-kin and burial rights for same-sex couples.

It found that neither the Civil Union Bill nor the Relationships Bill attend to those issues, nor do they set out that partners to a civil union are next-of-kin, despite promoters’ claims that they would grant such a status.

“The alternative proposed by Mr Worth will actually provide more tangible benefits to more people than civil unions,” says Nicki Taylor.

“Importantly, the Civil Relationships Bill does not imitate marriage and is not based on the wording of the Marriage Act. This justly includes a wider range of relationships and clearly distinguishes a ‘civil relationship’ from marriage”, says Nicki Taylor.

“Maxim’s written and oral submissions on the legislation recommended that New Zealand consider the Reciprocal Beneficiary model which operates successfully in Hawaii. We are pleased to see that a more just registration system has been proposed to replace the Civil Union Bill,” says Nicki Taylor

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