The protest in Dunedin. Photo: RNZ/Ingrid Leary
Hundreds of trans-rights activists have gathered in Dunedin to protest against proposed gender legislation.
New Zealand First has proposed a bill which would ensure the term "woman" is interpreted as "an adult human biological female" and "man" as an "adult human biological male" across all laws.
About 400 people have gathered in the Octagon - with rainbow banners and posters saying "Respect existence or expect resistance".
The protest has been organised by the International Socialist Organisation.
About 400 people have gathered in the Octagon on Saturday. Photo: RNZ/Ingrid Leary
One speaker told the crowd that Winston Peters is trying to erase people and give them no legal status.
Winston Peters and his party recently defended the new legislation in a recent interview with RNZ.
Peters said New Zealand First had been arguing the matter "for years" and it aligned New Zealand with the majority.
The bill is not government policy and will only be debated if it is pulled at random from the ballot.
Winston Peters says the proposed law was simply "putting the facts out there that are biologically correct". Photo: Facebook / Winston Peters
"It would be catching up with the mass majority of people in the world and not going down some woke leftist ideology track where no-one knows what's what."
Peters said the government had "no place in the nation's bedrooms", but the proposed law was simply "putting the facts out there that are biologically correct".
Asked how it would be enforced, Peters said transgender women would not be challenged until they walked into a single-sex space, or if they wanted to participate in a sporting situation like rugby or boxing.
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