'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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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>