An important aspect of the bill is balancing the need to prevent the harm that conversion practices cause with individual rights and freedoms. Some submitters expressed concern that the bill does not adequately provide and protect religious rights for freedom of expression. Others were concerned that the bill would impact on the ability for parents, whānau, and teachers to engage in open discussions with children about their sexuality and their gender. The bill is focused on banning conversion practices, which are done on the harmful premise that a person is broken and in need of fixing, and which the evidence tells us causes serious and life-altering harm. Unless a belief or a religious principle was expressed as part of a conversion practice being performed, then that sort of expression would not be impacted by the bill. For clarity, the bill already states that a conversion practice does not include the expression only of a religious principle or belief. The committee has amended this wording to make it clear that the expression of a non-religious belief would not be a conversion practice either.