Wed 19 Feb 2014 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Transgender rights advocate Allyson Hamblett is among those tirelessly fighting for gender identity to be specifically protected in human rights legislation. She now explains why there needs to be changes to citizenship documentation also. Updating official documentation is very important for transgender people. In 1995 section 28 of the Births Deaths Relationships and Marriages Act allowed New Zealand born trans people to update their birth certificates. Fourteen years later, in 2009 it became possible for overseas born trans people who are permanent residents or New Zealand citizens by grant, to obtain the Declaration As To Sex from the section 28 of the Births Deaths Relationships and Marriages Registration Act. The Declaration As To Sex works as a court order that has influence in other countries, such as England. It is still not possible to fully update the New Zealand Citizenship Certificate if a transgender person becomes a New Zealand citizen before they realise they are transgender. Current policy dictates that issuing NZ citizenship marks a historical moment in time. The process of challenging this policy began in 2008, and the Department of Internal Affairs recognises that the Citizenship Act (1977) needs to be updated to cater for transgender people more appropriately, so they can have this significant document updated. In 2013 a legislative change was deemed unnecessary and a policy change was needed that could have been achieved at the discretion of the Minister of Internal Affairs. When questioned, the Minister of Internal Affairs said that his “officials have advised him that the reissue of a citizenship certificate will require an amendment to the Citizenship Act 1977. It is not possible to achieve this outcome through the Citizenship Regulations 2002”. Unfortunately “The Government is not in a position to be able to tell you when a bill to amend the Act will be on the legislative programme” is a continued position which I’ve been trying to shift. The frustrating issue is that the Department of Internal Affairs recognises that the Citizenship Act 1977 needs updating to be more accommodating to transgender people. From my correspondence with the Minister of Internal Affairs I’m not sure whether there is intent to address this issue during the course of time. Not sure if there’s a way to shift Government thinking to address the issue. Allyson Hamblett - 19th February 2014
Credit: Allyson Hamblett
First published: Wednesday, 19th February 2014 - 10:53am