Same sex marriages a damp squib

Of the 2,798 marriages in New Zealand in the September quarter, fewer than 50 were to same sex couples getting hitched for the first time.

New statistics released by the Government show that whilst there were 117 same sex marriages, 47 of those were transfers from an existing civil union.

Of the remaining 70 same sex marriages, more than a third involved overseas tourists taking advantage of New Zealand marriage laws. Fewer than 50 involved New Zealand same sex couples “racing” to get married.

“Marriage registrations of female couples (61) just exceeded those of male couples (56).  Forty-seven of the 117 marriages were couples who transferred their civil union to marriage,” says Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson.

“The information also shows one-third of same-sex marriages were to overseas residents, compared with 10 per cent of opposite-sex marriages.”

 There were 33 civil unions registered over the same period, down from 53 in the same quarter a year ago.

 For the September quarter there were 2,798 marriages registered in New Zealand.