Article: Civil unions 'waste of time'

The much-lauded civil union legislation has been labelled a "waste of time" by critics, with only about 460 couples choosing civil unions since they became law a year ago.

Political opponents of the legislation say the poor showing -- which compares 458 civil unions to about 20,000 marriages -- proves the move was "political symbolism".

Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs yesterday show of the civil unions, 178 were male-male unions, 199 were female- female unions and 81 were heterosexual unions.

Labour MP Tim Barnett, the politician who drove the legislation that put civil unions on the same legal footing as marriages, said yesterday he was not surprised by the ...

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