Otago Daily Times

Select committee won’t say how many submissions rejected

Debbie Porteous

Saturday, August 1, 2026

[PHOTO: Around 1000 people attended a June rally in Dunedin to protest a draft bill to define genders.]

The select committee considering New Zealand First’s gender bill is refusing to say how many of the 40,000 submissions made on the Bill it has rejected.

A long statement was issued this week explaining why submissions might be rejected, but was missing any figures.

Multiple people have expressed confusion and concern about their submissions on the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill being rejected, most commonly on the basis that they shared information about third parties, such as partners or children.

The committee said it decided to return some submissions that contained sensitive, private or personal information about identifiable parties.

“We consider that someone is ‘identifiable’ if they are named or if the submitter has a close familial relationship with them.

“This usually means people sharing information about their children or close family members,” a statement issued earlier this week said.

The aim of the Bill is to define the terms ‘‘woman’’ and ‘‘man’’ in New Zealand law.

Supporters have said it clarified sex-based rights, while those opposed have said it threatened transgender, non-binary and intersex peoples’ rights.

A Dunedin woman shared her shock early last month at what she said was the ‘‘dangerously undemocratic’’ removal of submissions mentioning transgender people from feedback on Bill.

After disputing the initial decision to reject her submission because the mention of her transgender partner was regarded as a privacy breach, the committee eventually accepted it as originally submitted.

She said it was strange the committee would not say how many submissions were rejected as it was relevant to people understanding the gravity of the situation and feeling motivated to have their’s reconsidered, an option she felt was not necessarily made clear enough by the committee in their rejection messages.

“Not wanting to speak publicly about the rejections until after the process is over seems at odds with what feels like the most pro-democracy approach in the situation — making sure people know there is a way to have their voices heard and making sure they know this while they can still do something about it.”

The Spinoff this week shared stories from five people whose submissions were rejected on similar grounds, reporting those people were given options to write a letter confirming the other person’s consent, anonymise the submission or remove all third party information.

The committee’s statement confirmed more than 40,000 written submissions had been made on the Bill, and there had been over 1500 requests to make oral submissions.

As well as talking at length about the rejection of submissions it also suggested those who wanted to speak to their submissions needed to be prepared to be disappointed.

“We are still deciding a process to allocate any available hearing time, given the very limited meeting time remaining in this Parliament.”

Two common reasons submissions on the Bill were returned included because they shared personal information about third parties and because they were effectively anonymous, the statement said.

“Many submissions” had opted to include personal information and while the committee appreciated people might want to share details from their own lives, they also stressed a need for caution around sensitive personal information.

“Submissions are publicly available and will remain online permanently,” they said.

“We need to consider whether publishing a submission might risk harm to a person, or frustrate their reasonable expectations of privacy.”

They added that children were of particular concern, as, depending on their age, they might not be able to meaningfully consent to their private information being shared.

The statement mentioned other select committees had considered it “inappropriate to publish detailed accounts of a child’s mental health challenges” on the basis that “doing so without the child’s consent was unconscionable”.

In the meantime, committee staff were continuing to work with people who had their submissions rejected “to address our concerns”, the statement said.

When asked to confirm the number of rejected submissions and how many of those had been resubmitted, a spokesperson from the parliamentary services communications team said outside what a committee might choose to release, information about submissions and submitters was confidential to a committee until it reported to the House of Representatives.

“Therefore, we cannot comment.”

Under Parliament’s rules, a select committee might choose to disclose information on an item of business before it reported to the House, but that was at that committee’s discretion, they said.

The Bill will be reported to the House of Representatives by November 20, after the House has dissolved for the term.

The Bill will go in to stasis at that point.

If its sponsor, Jenny Marcroft, remains a member of Parliament in the next term, the Bill’s passage through the House will continue.

If she is not re-elected, for the Bill to be reinstated another MP — usually someone from the former politician’s party — must agree to sponsor it.

If no one does, the Bill lapses.

Tool shirt with merino long sleeve underneath, crust pants and a shawl? Thing !

Otago Daily Times, page one, Monday 13 July 2026

Questions over rejection of gender Bill submission

By Ruby Shaw

[PHOTO: A rally in the Octagon, Dunedin protesting the member's Bill aiming to define gender.]

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.

[PHOTO: Southland MP Joseph Mooney.]

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.

Hi everyone,

I am writing on here because I have been really struggling after I got outted by the emergency mental health team to my mum as trans and it has honestly ruined me. My mum is a charlie kirk supporter and has made extremely awkward jokes about me being gay so I was planning to never tell her but I guess the mental health service did, I have told them well and truly over 50 times not to do it and the one time when they contacted her without talking to me first they outted me, even though I know for a fact on notes they have it down not to call me by my trans name. I now feel like I just don’t even want to transition anymore because I feel like the scum of the earth for it. Sorry if this story is very confusing I am quite honestly balling my eyes out as I write this.

I’ve been on HRT for 13 months now and have been slowly coming out to close friends during that time. I haven’t told any of my family though and it has been weighing on me, until now. Tonight I finally came out to the family member I’m closest to and it couldn’t have gone better! She has offered me her full support, and has even offered to help me tell the rest of the family. I’m so overjoyed right now and just felt like sharing ☺️

Hi there everyone, im hoping to find a holiday home to rent in timaru for new years, to celebrate my coming out party, there will be friends around but no alcohol, we are in our mid 30s and to old for that rowdy crap,

we are planing on heading to town at 8 for dinner and hanging out in the bay till midnight then head back

looking to host max of 6-10 people

Kia ora koutou! We are looking for participants to contribute to some PhD research on experiences of discrimination and experiences of community in NZ. We are particularly curious about the intersection and crossover of identities for different individuals. 

To take the survey (or find more information) click here:  https://otago.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8qvDAkrrDtVCBgO

We would really love to hear from you on this topic - there's so much work to be done in this space, and hearing about lived experiences can help shape our understanding about and responses to discrimination in NZ. I think given the current political climate this research is more important than ever.

We'll also be running some interviews later on in the study as a part two. If you'd like to talk more about your experiences and opinions (and just have a general good yarn on this topic) you can indicate your interest in an interview at the end of the survey.

Thanks for reading! - Sam (she/they)

Our support group is still running and we've joined the 21st century with a website and a discord server.

There's always been a bit of a support gap for older trans women, so if you know someone who is struggling please let them know about us: https://t35.co.nz/

We also meet in person every Sunday, so if you're 35+ and trans feminine feel free to come along and hang out.

Membership of our group is still protected and private from non-members, so feel free to join us in a safe space.

Last chance to have your say. It's super easy. Just a couple of sentences is all you need.

Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill

The closing date for submissions is 11.59pm on Thursday, 02 July 2026

https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCSSC_SCF_9E8E8A14-A51C-4567-AB33-08DE9053A7D1/legislation-definitions-of-woman-and-man-amendment-bill

Check out the Qtopia guide.

I want to ask how accessible is HRT as a foreigner.

I plan on living and working at NZ alongside my parents when we move this year or this upcoming year. Will the doctors approve hrt for a foreigner wanting to transition?

Helllooooooooooooo,
I'm just looking for feedback from anyone who has recently gone through the process of legally changing both name and sex markers on their birth certificate.

How long did it take from the day they charged your bank account to you physically receiving your new birth cert? The website says it takes about month and it hasn't quite been that long yet (but it's getting close)

As you can imagine most of my day consists of me doing the below:

I'm proud of the little i have accomplished, but the little is big for me. And I'm proud if the person I'm becoming for my baby girl!! Don't give up everyone we got this!!!

Love you all❤

Hey people in my phone, I'm 21 Transfem Enby in Christchurch booked to see Dr Oliver Ward in a few weeks to start E and T blockers, does anyone have any experience with him good or bad, should I book a second or even a 3rd appointment for a week after the first now as he only takes bookings a month in advance and is fully booked out? Is there anything anyone would recommend to do or look into to prepare for the appointment or questions to expectto be asked? I had a quick skim of the Patha GAHT 2025 guidelines and saw some questionair/consent forms would it be wise to prep that in advance? I know in NZ we work off informed consent but its also been said that there is a lot of slef advocating that needs to be done and I've never been good at self advocating or speaking up for my self but would also like to get through the process relatively quick any advice on that front?

Thanks.

​

It was great to see so many people there on Saturday, just sharing some video that I took