Today marks 40 years since New Zealand’s Parliament passed the Homosexual Law Reform Act, which, after a long and difficult debate, decriminalised consensual homosexual conduct between males aged 16 and over.

We support the intent of the Bill but recommend it be strengthened with a clear sex-first structure.

Our submission starts from the Human Rights Act 1993, which protects sex and separately recognises sexual orientation, which means a heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, and bisexual orientation.