Marriage celebrants 'shun' civil unions

It's a job they are already qualified for, but the head of the Celebrants Guild thinks many of her members will not wish to become Civil Union celebrants.

The Department of Internal Affairs has put out a call for Civil Union celebrants to conduct ceremonies ahead of the April 26 date when the unions become a reality.

An advertisement ran in the Weekend Herald asking for interested people to contact the department and apply to become approved Civil Union Celebrants.

However Celebrant Guild of New Zealand president Heather Scott-Worsley believed not many of her members would reply.

"I think some of the younger ones will but perhaps not the older ones."

She doubted the department would be inundated with applications.

"A lot of people become marriage celebrants because they believe in the sanctity of marriage. I think there has been a lot of confusion about the Civil Union Bill."

She said people didn't realise a Civil Union could apply to heterosexual couples as well.

"I don't know why, legally, it's the same thing."

"I think they should have just stuck to it being for homosexual couples."

But former president Eddie McMenemy believed there would be a great response.

"I've got the papers right here in front of me. I just see it as an extension of what I already do. I have already had homosexual and heterosexual couples calling me about it."

He believed some marriage celebrants would be a bit homophobic.

"They will probably stand off and see because they don't want to have to deal with the homosexual side of it.

"I don't care - it doesn't bother me. If two people love each other that's all that matters."

Civil unions and marriages are dealt with under different legislation, and people wanting to become celebrants must be approved according to the Civil Union Act 2004 and have their name published as a Civil Union Celebrant in the New Zealand Gazette.

Appointments are made by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

People wanting to become Civil Union celebrants may find it easier than becoming a marriage celebrant, if the Internal Affairs website is anything to go by.

In its information for would-be marriage celebrants, it says that New Zealand has a large number already in place.

And holding other positions of responsibility, such as being a justice of the peace, or having a certificate in celebrant studies from Auckland University of Technology, does not automatically win a place.