PM Chris Hipkins was asked to give his views on gender and identity at Monday's post-cabinet meeting press statement.
Video / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was caught short yesterday when he was put on the spot to “define a woman” and his stumbling response has gone viral.
Hipkins was pressed by broadcaster Sean Plunket at the weekly post-cabinet press conference to answer the question, which has troubled leaders across the world.
He claimed it came “out of left field” despite other leaders, such as UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, being faced with the question recently.
“How do you and how does this government define a woman?” Plunket asked.
“To be honest Sean, that question has come slightly out of left field for me”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins appeared to be caught short by the question. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Another lengthier pause followed before Hipkins said: “Well, biology, sex, gender, um ...” trailing off before pausing again and saying: “People define themselves, people define their own genders”.
Plunket then asked the PM to answer the question, referring to Starmer’s answer that 99 per cent of women do not have penises.
“And I know it’s a strange thing for him to say, but given recent events in New Zealand, I’d ask again, how do you define what a woman is?” he asked.
“Well, as I’ve just indicated, I wasn’t expecting that question so it’s not something that I’ve you know, formulated, preformulated an answer on,” Hipkins said.
“But in terms of gender identity, I think people define their gender identity for themselves.”
Thanks to a law passed in 2021, New Zealanders are now allowed to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate.
The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationship Registration Bill means that Kiwis no longer need to provide proof of medical treatment or persuade a court that the change is warranted.
Hipkins was already in the sights of many anti-trans activists after his public comments on the polarising figure’s Let Women Speak tour, which eventually ended in a tense clash at Auckland’s Albert Park.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the trans rights movement, shared the video, writing: “In the interests of balance, someone should now ask women how they define Chris Hipkins.”
British commentator Piers Morgan, who has made a party piece of asking guests on his show to define a woman, joined the fray, writing: “New Zealand’s new Prime Minister doesn’t know what a woman is, despite replacing one as Prime Minister.”
UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last week that there would be “no rolling back” of women’s rights if he was elected prime minister and stressed that “99.9 per cent of women… haven’t got a penis”.
Labour MPs were whipped to vote for Nicola Sturgeon’s controversial gender Bill in Scotland earlier this year, but allowed a free vote on whether it should be blocked by the UK Government.
Sir Keir said: “The lesson from Scotland is that if you can’t take the public with you on a journey of reform, then you’re probably not on the right journey.
“And that’s why I think that collectively there ought to be a reset in Scotland.”
