Draft New Zealand law seeks ‘biological’ definition of man, woman

People attend a protest criticizing the government for its policies toward the Indigenous Maori population which they say are racist policies and undermine a treaty that protects their Indigenous rights, outside the New Zealand parliament in Wellington on May 30, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

WELLINGTON — A populist party in New Zealand’s governing coalition on Tuesday proposed a law to enforce a biological definition of men and women, condemning the existing “woke ideology” of “cancerous social engineering”.

The New Zealand First Party — which has campaigned to ban transgender women from using women’s toilets or participating in women’s sports — said it had lodged the draft legislation in parliament.

It launched the anti-“woke ideology” bid barely a week after Britain’s Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on a person’s sex at birth.

READ: UK Supreme Court to rule on landmark legal challenge over legal definition of a woman

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who leads the party, said events at home and internationally showed “the pendulum is swinging back towards common sense and proving us right”.

The bill defines a woman as an “adult human biological female” and a man as an “adult human biological male”.

It would move the country away from “woke ideology” that had undermined the protection and safety of women, Peters said in a statement.

“These definitions in law fight back against the cancerous social engineering we’ve seen being pushed in society by a woke minority,” he said.

“The need for legislation like this shows how far the deluded left has taken us as a society. But we are fighting back.”

New Zealand First is the smallest member of the three-party coalition government and it is not clear it would have support to pass the draft law.

READ: Ensuring true equality: The dangers of gender ideology and the Sogie bill

The bill was lodged by a member of parliament — not the government — making it less certain that parliament would allot time for it to be debated.

Centre-left opposition leader Chris Hipkins said Peters was pursuing “any populist cause” to maintain support.

“They’re interested in one headline after the next,” the Labour Party leader told public broadcaster Radio New Zealand.

“They don’t really have a coherent programme and they’re certainly not focused on the things that are required to lead New Zealand forward.”