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Article: Civil unions 'waste of time'
- Article from:
- The Press
- Article date:
- April 25, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 The Press. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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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 ...