Jan Logie Jan Logie says the Government is making the lives of transgender people needlessly difficult, by shelving the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The Minister of Internal Affairs replied to a member of the public in July saying that the Government took the Citizenship Amendment Bill off the Order Paper so that it could make changes to include the reissuing of citizenship certificates for transgender people. In answer to a written question, the Minister now says there is no timeline for when this work will be done. "This may not be a high priority for the Minister but for transgender people, putting this Bill on the backburner is heart-breaking," Logie, a Green Party rainbow issues spokesperson, says. "The Minister should stick with his promise to address this issue and make a real commitment, with a deadline that can give people surety,” she says. "Without paperwork that matches their gender, every time people have to interact with Government is a hugely stressful experience. "A relatively straight forward change in legislation would make the world of difference. "The lack of commitment from the Government is keeping these people in unnecessary limbo. "These people deserve to hear from Minister Chris Tremain about a timeline for this legislative change that would make a huge positive difference to their lives."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 2nd November 2012 - 10:09am