Masterton District Council
Captured
Q1: Do you provide communal single-sex changing and showering facilities?
Masterton District Council owns one multi-purpose recreation complex – The Trust House Recreation Centre. It offers swimming and fitness gym options and has communal single sex changing and showering facilities.
Q2: Do you provide single occupancy changing and showering facilities? If so, how many at each site?
The recreation centre provides five changing and showering facilities suitable for single occupants.
Q3: Please provide any policies or procedures that apply to trans-identified people who wish to use the changing and showering facilities in your sites.
Masterton District Council outsources the day-to-day management of the Trust House Recreation Centre to Belgravia Leisure Limited, who are an Australasian company working within New Zealand and Australia.
Their ‘Social Inclusion’ Policy which is applied at the Trust House Recreation Centre can be located at the following online site. https://belgravialeisure.com.au/social-inclusion/
The Council does not have any bylaws, policies, or procedures that apply to trans-identified people who wish to use the changing and showering facilities in Council sites.
The Council must meet legal requirements such as those in the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Building Regulations 1992.
The Human Rights Act 1993:
• Section 21 - prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Section 44 - prohibits treating anyone less favourably than anyone else by reason of any of the prohibited grounds of discrimination with respect to facilities for the public.
Clause G1 'Personal Hygiene' of Schedule 1 'the Building Code' in the Building Regulations 1992 requires:
• Safeguards against people experiencing any loss of amenity arising from the absence of appropriate personal hygiene facilities.
• Sanitary fixtures to be provided in a way that provides appropriate privacy.
Q4: How are your different changing and showering facilities labelled and described?
The larger single sex communal changing and shower facilities are designated Female and Male Changing areas, the single occupancy changing and shower facilities are labelled Family or Accessible changing rooms.
The facility also has 15 individual gender neutral ‘ChangingCubicles’.
Q5: At your sites, which changing room and showering facilities is a trans-identified male permitted to use?
Individuals may use all facilities aligned with their gender identity.
Q6: If applicable, do your facilities allow trans-identifying males to attend Women Only swim sessions?
Yes
Our Verdict
Terrible for women. Masterton District Council has no respect for sex based rights.
Masterton uses Male and Female signage, yet this is misleading as entry is based on gender identity not sex.
Masterton also seem very confused about what 'sexual orientation' is.
Links to any provided documents