Conservative NZ believes legislation specifically
addressing conversion practices must demonstrate a clear and
necessary purpose without creating unnecessary barriers to
legitimate parenting, counselling or healthcare.
The
Act’s stated purpose includes preventing harm and promoting
respectful, open discussion about sexuality and gender.
Section 5 also contains exclusions for professional health
services meeting specified standards, identity exploration,
acceptance and support.
Nevertheless, parents have
raised concerns that the law’s scope and the potential
consequences of misinterpretation may discourage
professionals from offering the range of support families
need. These concerns warrant careful examination and, where
necessary, legislative reform.
Our policy
commitments
1. Protect parents’ rights and
responsibilities
Parents and guardians must be able
to discuss biological sex, and personal wellbeing with their
children in an honest, age-appropriate and compassionate
manner.
They must be able to express their beliefs,
raise concerns about medical interventions, seek independent
professional advice and make responsible decisions about
their children’s care without legitimate parenting being
treated as unlawful conduct.
Parents should not be
presumed abusive simply because they do not agree with a
child’s expressed gender identity or do not immediately
support a particular social or medical course of
action.
2. Protect professional
independence
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
Qualified psychologists, counsellors and
healthcare professionals must be able to exercise
independent professional judgement within appropriate legal,
ethical and clinical standards.
They should be able to
consider relevant psychological, developmental, social and
medical factors, discuss uncertainty, recommend further
assessment and support a child’s wellbeing without fear that
good-faith care will automatically be interpreted as a
prohibited conversion practice.
Conservative NZ will
advocate for clear statutory protections for professionals
providing legitimate, evidence-informed and non-coercive
care.
3. Ensure parents can access a genuine range of
professional support
Families should not be left
without appropriate help because a professional is unwilling
or unable to explore their concerns.
Parents must be
able to seek practitioners who will listen to the whole
family, consider the child’s individual circumstances and
provide suitable support without imposing a predetermined
outcome.
Support may include mental wellbeing, healthy
routines, sport, hobbies, social connection and other
appropriate activities that help a young person build
confidence and resilience. These approaches should
complement, rather than automatically replace, any necessary
professional assessment or treatment.
4. Protect
freedom of speech, conscience and belief
Parents,
professionals, teachers and religious communities must be
able to express lawful beliefs and engage in respectful
discussions about sex, and sexuality.
A difference of
opinion, a discussion of biological reality, a question
about medical risks or the expression of a sincerely held
belief should not constitute unlawful conduct.
5.
Establish clear legal boundaries
If the Act is
retained, amend it to expressly protect:
Good-faith
parenting and parental guidance.
Respectful discussion
of biological sex, and sexuality.
Non-coercive
counselling and exploratory psychological
support.
Legitimate professional assessment and
independent clinical judgement.
Lawful religious
expression and freedom of conscience.
The ability of
families to seek appropriate support without being forced
into a predetermined approach.
The law should make a
clear distinction between abusive practices intended to
cause harm and legitimate efforts to understand and support
a child.
No family should feel that asking questions
or seeking a different professional opinion puts their
relationship with their child at risk. Every child deserves
compassionate support, and every parent deserves to be
heard.
Our guiding principle
Conservative NZ
believes the law should protect people from genuine harm
without silencing legitimate care, discussion or
professional judgement.
We will advocate for a legal
framework that:
Respects parents as responsible
caregivers
Gives professionals the freedom to provide
appropriate, independent support.
Protects freedom of
speech, conscience and belief.
Protect children from
harm. Protect parents’ right to care. Protect the freedom to
ask questions, seek help and provide compassionate
support.
