ࡱ> 021` G bjbjss .G2222222F  F$222222222444444$h? vX222222X2222m22222222222& GH.20 v: 0 2<2222222XX2222222FFFddFFFFFF222222  Dear HREOC, Thank you for the opportunity to make a public submission to the National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits. I am a 29 year old female. I work in the IT industry and I have done so for over 10 years. I currently have a same sex partner who I have been in a relationship with for 2 1/2 years. I believe that to achieve full legal equality all Federal legislation should have terms such as 'spouse', 'partner' 'dependent' , 'family' and 'couple' redefined to include same sex partners and, where relevant, their children. I believe that Commonwealth legal recognition of same sex relationships including families parented by same sex partners would have a positive impact on my relationships, family life, productivity at work and financial security, among other areas of my life. I have experienced discrimination in that my past employer, did not recognise my partner as my immediate family and would not allow us to have the same benefits available to staff that a heterosexual couple could have working for the company. This discrimination is unnecessary and only serves to further divide and marginalise gay people from the community. It made me feel that my relationship was not respected by my employer. Yours sincerely [Name Withheld] ` a 4 5 6 ? @ C D E F G Ⱥ֬h}hCKCJaJhCKCJOJQJ^JaJh14CJOJQJ^JaJh4CJOJQJ^JaJhdCJOJQJ^JaJhCKh4CJOJQJaJhCKCJOJQJaJ 5 F G \$gdCKgdCKG ,1h. A!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DAD Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListB^@B CK Normal (Web)dd[$\$HH 4 Balloon TextCJOJQJ^JaJG5FI0005FI@0@00G G G ;DI 5EI33`a5DFI;DI{[]ScnTqcnTq{ 14CKCnjr`z}zm4d@DDJccDDG@@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial7&  Verdana5& zaTahoma"h%~ ~ !24dEE2HP)?CK230/05/06Kate FitzgeraldKate FitzgeraldOh+'0x  4 @ LX`hp 30/05/06Kate Fitzgerald Normal.dotKate Fitzgerald4Microsoft Office Word@G@.@NOE~Oh+'0p$d,4L  < \ D  T 30/05/06 Normal.dot1Microsoft Office Word~   !"$%&'()*-Root Entry F/G/Data  1TableWordDocument.SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8#CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89qRoot Entry F2h4Data  1TableWordDocument. 3# SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8lCompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q՜.+,D՜.+,8 hpx   E  30/05/06 Title 4 $,