Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin has deferred a bill that would make it easier for people to self-identify their gender. She told Q+A tonight, there was no pressure from her New Zealand First colleagues to put the bill on hold.

The Minister wouldn’t be drawn on whether she supported the right for trans people to self-identify.

“I would like them whoever they are to be honoured in our society”

She says the legal advice was clear:

“I have had advice from Crown law that I have to work through, that we have to work through, because I can’t make partial law.”

When asked if she believed the original bill would have impinged on the safety of women? “I think we need to make sure that isn’t the case”.

“I did actually ask if that was possible, if we had a male that had been remanded in custody to a male prison, could they go online and actually change their gender and would that create another issue. And the answer is, people don’t know.”

She wasn’t sure whether the bill would be ready in this term of Parliament.

Please find the full interview here.

Q+A, 9:30pm Mondays on TVNZ 1 and one hour later on TVNZ 1 + 1.

Streamed live at www.tvnz.co.nz

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