Conversion Therapy Bill passes final reading

Despite the impromptu music festival happening on its front lawn, the New Zealand Parliament passed The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill, colloquially known as the Conversion Therapy Bill, on its final reading on February 15th. This occurred with 112 voices in favour across all parties - and with the exception of just 8 National MPs:

Simon Bridges, Simeon Brown, Melissa Lee, Todd McClay, Simon O'Connor, Chris Penk, Shane Reti, and Michael Woodhouse.

The bill will come into effect in six months after sign-off from the Governor-General. When it does come into effect, offenders could face up to 3 years of imprisonment for conversion therapy provided to anyone under 18 years old, and up to 5 years if serious harm occurs for clients of any age.

The NZ Skeptics had the honour of being selected to make an oral submission to the Justice Committee on September 15th last year. You can watch all the submissions here, or if you are interested in our specific submission you can watch it here from 1:00:28. You can also read our original written submission, and the text that formed the basis of our oral submission.

Of note in the same session that we gave our submission, there is a presentation given by the youth wing of the National Party - it's well worth watching, just to see Simon Bridges' soul attempt to evacuate his body.

Jokes aside, it's vital to acknowledge the work of the many New Zealanders, most notably Shaneel Lal and other young kiwis, who initiated and persevered with this immense political undertaking.

However, there is still work to be done. Lal, who is the founder of the Conversion Therapy Action Group, argues that the ban relies on the criminal justice system to apprehend offenders. That is, the Attorney General needs to consent to a prosecution in the first instance. Lal points out in their RNZ op-ed that the police can prosecute other crimes like murder without needing the same consent.

Lal further argues that the criminal justice system already disproportionately affects Maori and Pacific communities. The criminalisation of conversion therapy, they argue, will only deepen the inequity as homophobia and transphobia, that have been imported and embedded in their lives through colonisation and missionary work, is likely to make these communities more vulnerable. In this instance, Lal advocates for better education rather than prosecution.

You can read more here: