De facto couples excluded from civil union rights

A parliamentary committee's decision not to extend all the legal rights of marriage and civil unions to de facto couples has won the approval of relationship experts and the Government.

The justice select committee released its report on the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill, which puts civil unions on the same legal basis as marriage and has to be passed by the time the Civil Union Act comes into force on April 26.

The committee also had to decide how de facto couples would fit in with marriage and civil union laws, and decided there was a difference.

"People in de facto relationships do not have equal rights. Their relationship is always open to challenge, whereas a marriage or a civil union is not," said committee chairman Tim Barnett.

De facto couples are already covered through separate laws, and will not notice any difference through small changes recommended by the committee to bring legislation into line with the Human Rights Act. The committee decided to define a de facto relationship as one which was "in the nature of marriage or a civil union".

Associate Justice Minister David Benson-Pope said last night the definition would make it clear that people in short-term or casual relationships would not be considered de facto partners.

- NZPA