'The pendulum is swinging back towards common sense': New Zealand must follow Britain and define women by their biological sex, its deputy PM says as he blasts 'the deluded left' and ‘woke minority'
Winston Peters said events in New Zealand and internationally showed that 'the pendulum is swinging back towards common sense and proving us right'.
His New Zealand First party introduced a bill to its parliament on Tuesday that if enacted would define 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.'
The New Zealand First Party has long campaigned to ban transgender women from using women's toilets or participating in women's sports.
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 one's biological sex, paving the way for excluding trans men and women from single-sex spaces if 'proportionate'.
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 as it has to be selected at random from a ballot and then garner majority support in parliament.
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 at a time when New Zealanders are struggling with the cost of living, job losses and a health system in crisis, this was not a priority.
'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.'
The legislation the bill intends to amend sets out how terms and words commonly used in other legislation should be interpreted, such as 'de facto partner'.
The proposed law follows a ruling by Britain's Supreme Court last Wednesday that only biological and not trans women meet the definition of a woman under equality laws.
It was a landmark decision which was welcomed by the Government as bringing clarity, but was greeted with concern by demonstrators who marched in Westminster in support of trans rights following the decision last week.
The ruling centred on whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document giving legal recognition of someone's new gender, is protected from discrimination as a woman under the Equality Act.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer completed a humiliating U-turn on gender today as he finally welcomed 'clarity' from the landmark ruling.
Asked whether he still believed a trans woman is a woman, Sir Keir said a 'woman is an adult female' - with Downing Street later confirming his view on that has changed.
He told the BBC: 'I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court, which has given us clarity, much-needed clarity, and I think for those that are now drawing up guidance, it's a much clearer position.
'So I'm really pleased that the court has now clarified the position. We can move on from there and I think that's been very helpful, and I would welcome that.'
Transgender rights have become a highly political issue in many countries, with some arguing that liberal support for transgender people has infringed on the rights of biological women.
After the UK, there are also legal challenges underway in the US after President Donald Trump issued executive orders that include barring transgender people from military service.
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