The “national day of action” featured speeches, waiata and karakia after the large group ended their march at Te Komititanga Square.
“The Government wants to sow division among the people of Aotearoa through hateful rhetoric, targeting tangata irawhiti for cheap political stunts that will achieve nothing positive for anyone and only bring harm to our rainbow community,” Rainbow Action Tāmaki wrote on Instagram.
Thousands of Kiwis marched through central Auckland, rallying against New Zealand First’s controversial proposal to define “woman” and “man” in law. Photo / Marzia Solarian
The organisers said the event was to show the Government that they would not be divided.
“We will show them the strength of our community, and that we will not be defined,” they wrote.
Videos from the event showed the passionate protesters filling the width of Queen St, with one sign saying, “Winston is weird”.
Another sign said, “You can’t legislate our identities”.
What is the proposal?
Earlier this year, New Zealand First said it wanted to clarify the definition of a woman and a man in law, introducing a Member’s Bill.
The move follows the UK Supreme Court ruling that the term “women” as referred to in the British Equality Act refers only to biological women. It’s also the latest in a series of legislative proposals from NZ First in its so-called “war on woke”.
The party wants to see “women” defined in law as an “adult human biological female” and “man” defined as an “adult human biological male”.
NZ First leader Winston Peters said the legislation was “not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything”. Photo / NZME
“The purpose of this amendment is to uphold legal certainty, protect the integrity of sex-based rights and ensure that language in law reflects biological reality,” an explanatory note within the legislation says.
“This definition will apply in all contexts where the terms ‘woman’ and ‘man’ are used, unless explicitly stated otherwise in specific legislation.”
NZ First leader Winston Peters said the legislation was “not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything” but “about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the term ‘woman’ in law”.
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