The Department of Internal Affairs will have four months to implement changes stemming from the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, which will enable all couples to marry regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. The next step is for the Bill to receive Royal assent from the Governor-General, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, following the completed third reading of the Marriage Amendment Bill tonight says Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery. “The Department has a lot of work to do. We are confident everything will be ready for the day the new law takes effect which will be in August, no later than four months after Royal assent,” he says. “We have to: amend the various forms and certificates used to collect, register and provide information under the Marriage Act 1955 and the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995; alter the Department's computer systems to allow for the recording of same-sex marriages, including capturing the sex of the parties to the marriage; provide information to the public and celebrants about the changes, for example on websites, brochures and other guidance material published by the Department; and train staff who conduct registry office marriages and provide information to the public.” On the day the law takes effect, new forms will be available for all couples who want to get married, including same sex couples, Mr Montgomery says. “A couple would apply for a marriage licence using the new form to be available on the day the Act comes into force. Three days after the completed form is received by the Department, a marriage licence would be ready for collection and a marriage can take place.” All couples getting married in New Zealand must follow the correct process, including using a licensed marriage celebrant or a Registrar of Marriages. The Department licenses marriage celebrants, registers marriages and produces marriage certificates. Q Church; organisational: * Independent Marriage Celebrants are persons from the community who are appointed by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages as marriage celebrants and who operate independent of churches and organisations. Only those persons appointed by the Registrar-General as Marriage Celebrants and whose names appear in the List of Marriage Celebrants in the New Zealand Gazette or at www.bdm.govt.nz have the authority to solemnise marriages in New Zealand. * Ministers of religious bodies (as specified in Schedule 1 of the Marriage Act 1955) – each of these religious bodies nominates its ministers, and the ministers’ names are published in the New Zealand Gazette and on the DIA website. * Organisational celebrants – approval is granted to certain organisations that have as one of their principal objects the upholding or promotion of religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions; these organisations then nominate their designated celebrants and the names are published in the New Zealand Gazette and on this website. To 'solemnise' or conduct civil unions, a person must be approved in accordance with the Civil Union Act 2004 and have their name published as a Civil Union Celebrant in the Gazette. People wanting to solemnise civil unions must be approved according to the Civil Union Act 2004 and have their name published as a Civil Union Celebrant in the New Zealand Gazette.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 17th April 2013 - 10:16pm