Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde’s bill, which aroused bitter public and political debate, removed criminal sanctions against consensual male homosexual practices.
The Homosexual Law Reform Bill was signed by the governor-general on 11 July 1986 and came into effect on 8 August. It decriminalised sexual relations between men aged 16 and over. No longer would men having consensual sex with each other be liable to prosecution and a term of imprisonment. Though sex between women had never been illegal, many lesbians suffered the same social discrimination as gay men and were staunch supporters of the reform movement.
The campaign to reform the law moved beyond the gay community to embrace wider issues of human rights and discrimination. Opponents of the reform warned that it would destroy the ‘New Zealand family’ and predicted the spread of AIDS through the community.
Image: Homosexual law reform poster
Read more on NZHistory
Homosexual law reform in New Zealand – Homosexual law reformDavid Lange1986 - key events – The 1980s
External links
- Homosexual law reform retrospective (Laganz)
- The night the bill was passed (Queer history)
- 20 Years Out (RNZ)
- Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 (Statutes of New Zealand)
How to cite this page
'Homosexual Law Reform Bill passed', URL: /homosexual-law-reform-bill-passes-its-third-reading, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 29-May-2015
