Coalition partners hold the deciding votes on NZ First’s gender bill
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The future of NZ First’s bill to legally define a man and woman in biological terms will hinge on how National and ACT MPs choose to vote.
Picked from the biscuit tin last week, the bill faces firm opposition from Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori all of whom are expected to vote against it as parties.
Contentious social issues are often treated as conscience votes, and neither National nor ACT has yet decided how it will handle the bill.
Conscience issues allow MPs to vote individually on matters, rather than simply following their party as happens with most laws.
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NZ First cannot pass the bill without the support of almost every National and ACT MP, if it become a conscience votes for those parties.
How MPs might vote remains unclear, with views inside the National Party particularly divided.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon previously told RNZ that National would consider the bill as a caucus if it was drawn from the ballot.
He said he had already made his views clear, by saying “pregnant people, frankly, are women”.
'Let's have some common sense about it, and let's use some common-sense language.'
But National MP and minister Chris Bishop’s comments during Breakfast's weekly political panel last year were less supportive, saying the legislation was a “distraction”.
'Look, this country's got big challenges, right? … We are deep in debt. We are just coming out of recession. We've got to go for growth. We've got to lift living standards. We've got a housing crisis, got an infrastructure deficit. We've got big climate change obligations.
'You know, is this the biggest thing on the planet? Talking about the definition of a woman? I would argue, no.'
The view that the bill is the wrong focus is shared by Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori also.
Labour MP Camilla Belich said it was unfortunate the Government was prioritising the issue while people were struggling with the cost of living.
“This bill is pointless and a complete waste of time.”
The Greens’ Takatāpui and Rainbow Communities spokesperson, Kahurangi Carter, said the bill punched down on the most vulnerable and marginalised, serving as a distraction from the Government’s failures that had worsened the fossil-fuel and cost-of-living crises.
“What NZ First is doing with this bill is classic political strategy.
“We want trans people in Aotearoa to know they are loved and cared for, and that the Greens will continue to advocate for them to live their lives freely, with happiness, acceptance and dignity.”
A Te Pāti Māori spokesperson said it was a ”legislative erasure of trans people“ that had no place in Aotearoa.
“It is driven by a United States imported culture war to fuel division among our communities for political gain.
“Like many of NZ First’s policies, this bill is a political stunt that will do nothing to improve the lives of New Zealanders during a cost-of-living crisis.
“Te Pāti Māori utterly rejects transphobia in all forms.”
NZ First leader Winston Peter has said the bill fought against “the cancerous social engineering we’ve seen being pushed in society by a woke minority”.
“Our laws should reflect biological reality and provide legal certainty,” he said.