ࡱ> ^`_!` _5bjbj\\ dL>>_-$D/2&&&&&&&&.......$M0h2.&&&&&.&&.&F&&.&.-|V.& 6(l~-v.$.0/-;3lf;3$V.;3V. &&&&&&&..&&&/&&&& Same sex: Same entitlements HREOC national inquiry into discrimination against people in samesex relationships Address by Linda Matthews SA Commissioner for Equal Opportunity Midday, 28 August 2006 OUTLINE OF ADDRESS (1) Why legal recognition of same-sex couples is important (2) The situation in South Australia (3) Complaints of discrimination received in South Australia (4) The need for federal reforms (5) Reconciling religious beliefs and marriage (6) Conclusions (1) Why legal recognition of same-sex couples is important Let me being by stating what may seem obvious: as South Australias Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, I support the legal recognition of the full range of rights and responsibilities of people in same-sex relationships For me, recognition of same-sex couples is simply a matter of ensuring the laws of this country do not unjustly discriminate against members of the community When it comes to the relationships that todays couples enter into, there is no logical reason why there should not be genuine legal equality between same and opposite sex defactos Recognising same-sex couples is not a radical idea in fact South Australia and the Commonwealth are the only governments in Australia that have not adopted this reform It is my firm belief that the balance of community opinion is now in favour of equal rights and recognition for people living as same-sex couples I say this because there has not been a significant majority groundswell in the community against the legal recognition of same-sex couples Despite this, there are a few in the community who remain steadfastly opposed to according any respect to people who are not heterosexual Those few who are opposed to what is now widespread social acceptance of homosexuality, will try to confuse the basic equity issue here, by raising concerns about the sanctity of marriage, religious precepts and declining moral values But human rights are, by their nature, universal Prejudice alone is never a sufficient argument to justify taking civil liberties away from others, while keeping them for yourself (2) The situation in South Australia For some time now, volunteers in the local gay community have been lobbying for legal recognition of same-sex couples through the Lets Get Equal Campaign Back in 1999, the Equal Opportunity Commission supported Lets Get Equal to conduct a legislative audit We found over 50 different South Australian Acts that discriminated against same-sex couples Since that time, we have been arguing the case for law reform It is unfortunate that seven years later, these fair and sensible amendments are yet to be implemented Even more worrying, is the fact that since the audit was first conducted, the number of SA Acts that discriminate against gay couples has almost doubled There are now 99 separate pieces of legislation in South Australia that contain provisions that discriminate against people in same-sex relationships There was a time when South Australia could proudly boast that it was one of the worlds great pioneers when it came to law reform The vote for women, consumer protection laws, the Torrens land title system, decriminalisation of homosexuality, Aboriginal land rights: South Australians stood at the forefront of all these advances However, now we find ourselves lagging behind the rest of the country with outdated laws, including for both recognition of same-sex couples and protection against discrimination generally It is a problem that same-sex couples can be partners for 40 years, but are still just strangers in the eyes of the law? (3) Complaints of discrimination received in South Australia I believe it would be useful for you to hear some practical examples of the types of complaints we receive at the Equal Opportunity Commission in SA Currently, the SA Equal Opportunity Act recognises sexuality as a ground of discrimination However, the ground of marital status does not include same-sex partners Therefore, while around 5% of our complaints are about discrimination on the basis of sexuality, we are not able to take up many complaints of discrimination against same sex couples When the Equal Opportunity Commission first started discussing this issue with the Lets Get Equal Campaign seven years ago, we heard a range of accounts about the discrimination faced by same-sex couples These included a woman being prevented from seeing her partner after she was in a serious car accident, because the hospital said she wasnt family We also heard stories about a funeral director who had been asked by parents to make sure their sons male partner was prevented from attending his funeral We have dealt with complaints of workers being given the sack simply because their partner of the same sex arrives after work to pick them up We have also received complaints about the difficulties people in same sex relationships face organising their superannuation so that, should the need arise, they can access their partners accumulated benefits In some cases, gay people have told us that they have been refused access to their partners superannuation on their death even if they were named as the beneficiary In another case, two men made a complaint when they felt their small family company was being targeted by competitors who were trying to use the fact that they were a gay couple to try to put them out of business (4) The need for federal reforms Even with state reforms, there is still a need for federal law reform to ensure same-sex couples are covered by the full range of rights, responsibilities, entitlements and obligations that currently attach to heterosexual couples in defacto relationships The Australian Government is responsible for a number of areas of law like taxation, health care and veterans affairs that are outside the control of state and territory governments Therefore, it is necessary for federal law reforms to be progressed to complete the recognition of same-sex couples that has begun in states and territories Presently, lesbian and gay families are not sufficiently protected by the Australian Government. As a result they experience a number of discriminatory impacts For example, in 2004, the Australian Government sent information in the post to all households about how they could apply for new Medicare safety net benefits for families with high medical bills The application for Medicare specifically excluded same-sex families This overt and unnecessary discrimination resulted in a number of calls and letter to the Equal Opportunity Commission for same-sex couples disappointed at yet another example of how they are treated as second class citizens Another important issue that needs to be addressed federally is superannuation We have received complaints about the difficulties people in same sex relationships face organising their superannuation so that, should the need arise, they can access their partners accumulated benefits In some cases, gay people have told us that they have been refused access to their partners superannuation on their death even if they were named as the beneficiary Some of the most important federal laws requiring change are tax and welfare laws These policy areas are controlled entirely by the federal government and the failure to recognise same-sex couples and families can lead to significant financial disadvantage In other cases, the failure to recognise same-sex parents means that some children are considered by the federal government to be raised by single-parent families when they are not In federal law, same-sex relationships simply do not exist. This is a fiction that is no longer sustainable, especially when the social recognition of same-sex families is widely supported in the community (5) Reconciling religious beliefs and marriage Our experience in SA has been that at every attempt to progress same-sex law reform, the strongest opposition is raised by fundamentalist religious groups I would like to stress again that this opposition is only from a handful of fundamentalist groups. There are many moderate religious groups who are friends and supporters of the gay community Indeed, when the SA Parliaments Social Development Committee held an inquiry into same-sex law reform in 2004, it heard evidence from the Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide The Archbishop did not oppose same-sex couples being recognised in the same way as heterosexual defacto couples are In 2005, the SA Equal Opportunity Tribunal granted an exemption to Uniting Care Wesley (the welfare arm of the Uniting Church) allowing it to hire gay volunteers as peer educators in its highly successful BFriend program, supporting people coming to terms with their sexuality From this we know that it is incorrect and misleading to say simply that Churches are opposed to same-sex law reform. Some are. But by no means are all of them In 2005, the Australia Institute released it research report Mapping Homophobia in Australia. It found that two-thirds of all Australians reject the view that homosexuality is immoral Furthermore, this research challenged the common misconception that people who hold strong religious convictions are necessarily homophobic While it did find that 68% of Baptists thought homosexuality was immoral, only a minority of Catholics (34%) and Anglicans (35%) agreed I think this context is important, because so often this debate is portrayed as an irreconcilable argument between gay lobbyists and Church groups In reality, most people support a moderate consensus position that is the recognition of same-sex couples as defactos by the Government and the preservation of sacramental marriage as the province of the Church (6) Conclusions Across Australia, no less than 13 inquires have already been conducted into same-sex couple recognition by governments and parliaments In 1997 a Senate Inquiry first recommended the need for federal reform in important areas like social security, taxation, superannuation, health, family programs and other services. It is now time for these sensible measures to be adopted I recommend that the Federal Government conduct an audit of all its legislation to determine which pieces of legislation unfairly discriminate against same-sex couples Subsequently, those laws should be amended to ensure same-sex partners are treated in the same way as opposite-sex defacto partners Many gay people choose to live in couple relationships of mutual affection and support. Just as for heterosexual couples, these relationships are vital and can last a lifetime Gay relationships now have much the same social consequences as straight relationships. For example, the couple may merge their property and financial affairs, they may provide care for each other during periods of illness or disability and they may care for children together The federal law however, knows nothing of such arrangements. It is time that the law stopped pretending that gay couples dont exist Same-sex relationships do not threaten the fabric of society. On the contrary, all stable committed relationships contribute to it. I would like to close by thanking the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and its President John von Doussa, for conducting this inquiry into same-sex relationships I hope that your important and timely work will encourage the South Australian and federal Governments to join the rest of the country and give people living in same-sex relationships the recognition they deserve qs 1 [CWz&&)])_)t*u*++R+³vgvgvgvgvgYgYgYgYhCCJOJQJ^JaJhCCJOJQJ\^JaJ#hC5>*CJOJQJ\^JaJhCCJOJQJ\^JaJhCCJOJQJ\^JaJhCCJOJQJ\^JhC5CJOJQJ\^JhCOJQJ\^JhC6CJOJQJ^JhC6CJOJQJ^JhC5OJQJ^JhC5CJ OJQJ^Jqrs# $ % & $  a$ $ p a$ p &dP $ p a$_5& K L M N 2 3  $ & F  edh^e`a$ $  dha$ $  a$  d e   ./YZ[  dh$ & F  edh^e`a$$  dha$"#>=>?@ABC$  dha$$  dha$$ & F  edh^e`a$sstABt~TUVWXz{{|$  dha$$ & F  dh^`a$|7u 9!~!c""#($)${$|$+%%%&&&&&$  dha$$  dha$$ & F  dh^`a$&}'~'>(?((^)_)u*++[,,v-K.L.M.N.O.P.a.b.$  dha$$  dha$$ & F  dh^`a$R+q+++Z,[,,,u-v-J.Q.`._5#hC5>*CJOJQJ\^JaJhCCJOJQJ\^JaJhCCJOJQJ^JaJhC6CJOJQJ^JaJ b...///01112Q3334[5\5]5^5_5$  dha$$ & F  dh^`a$0&P 1h. 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