ࡱ> RTQ#` ?bjbj\.\. .D>D>D'2$2A':@@@@x&z&z&z&z&z&z&$=(h*H&]4"4"4"&@@&$$$4"@@x&$4"x&$$$@ .5J"~$x&'0A'$*#F*$$,*D&4|$E d &&$ A'4"4"4"4"222  22222 3 November 2006 By email:  HYPERLINK "mailto:samesex@humanrights.gov.au" \o "blocked::mailto:samesex@humanrights.gov.au" samesex@humanrights.gov.au Same-Sex Inquiry Human Rights Unit Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Dear Mr Innes National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same-Sex Relationships Discussion Paper II: Same-sex Couples and their 鱨վ in Federal Law The Love Makes A Family campaign (LMAF) congratulates the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission on the release of the second Discussion Paper as part of the Same Sex - Same Entitlements Inquiry. Laws affecting the social and legal realities of our families have a huge impact on the wellbeing, stability and happiness of many Rainbow Families including their extended families. Changes to all areas of Federal law that negatively impact on same sex parents and their children would be enthusiastically welcomed by Rainbow Families in Victoria. Background to Love Makes A Family. The Love Makes A Family Campaign was initiated in December 2004 in response to the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) Enquiry Assisted Reproductive Technology and Adoption should the eligibility criteria in Victoria be changed?. Over the period of the following 14 months LMAF actively engaged the lesbian, gay and transgender parenting and prospective parenting communities, their families and friends to respond to the three position papers released by the Commission. The work of the campaign is still continuing as we await the final report of the Commission. The three LMAF submissions to the VLRC are attached to this cover letter addressing our responses to Position Paper 1: Access, Position Paper 2: Parentage and Position Paper 3: Surrogacy. The submissions and other campaign information can be found on the website:  HYPERLINK "http://www.lovemakesafamilyaustralia.org/" \o "blocked::http://www.lovemakesafamilyaustralia.org/" www.lovemakesafamilyaustralia.org . The submissions include many issues that are common side effects and outcomes of our relationships and families existing outside both state and federal laws. The submissions to the Victorian Law Reform Commission were presented on behalf of the Fertility Access Rights Lobby (FAR), a then working group of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby. Initially LMAF was a campaign of FAR. However in September this year, FAR was disbanded and replaced with a new Rainbow Families Council of Victoria, autonomous from the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL). Since late 2004 I had been the convenor of FAR and the campaign coordinator of Love Makes A Family. As a result, the LMAF campaign is now an autonomous campaign which will work collaboratively with both the new Rainbow Families Council of Victoria and the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby. Responses to specific questions tabled in the Discussion Paper: (c) Do you have a personal experience which illustrates the impact of any of the laws described in this paper? The Fertility Access Rights Lobby submissions to the three VLRC Position Papers released during 2005 as part of the Victorian Law Reform Commission Enquiry into are attached. Examples of federal law and its impact on children born into or living with same sex parented families are provided within these submissions. (d) Do you have any comments about the suggested definition of de facto relationship in federal law (discussed in section 6.2 of the discussion paper)? Love Makes A Family broadly supports the proposed definition of de facto relationship in the Discussion Paper. As included in the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby submission, we support the suggestion that criterion (f) should be moved to the first sub-section as it more clearly encompasses the necessary type of relationship to be covered by the definition. As such, an appropriate definition of de facto relationship would be: (1) De facto relationship means the relationship between two people mutually committed to a shared life as a couple on a genuine domestic basis. (2) In determining whether two people are in a de facto relationship, all the circumstances of the relationship must be taken into account, including any of the following: (a) the length of the relationship; (b) how long and under what circumstances they have lived together; (c) whether there is a sexual relationship between them; (d) their degree of financial dependence or interdependence, and any arrangements for financial support, between or by them; (e) the ownership, use and acquisition of their property, including any property that they own individually; (f) whether they mutually care and support children; (g) the sharing of household duties; (h) the reputation, and public aspects of the relationship between them. (3) No one factor, or any combination of factors, under (2) is necessary to establish a de facto relationship. (4) A de facto relationship may be between a couple of the same sex or different sex. Love Makes A Family also cautiously supports the introduction of a statutory declaration process. Undeniably such a document would be very useful in circumstances where, for example, you were registering the birth of a child to a same sex couple or, when in a lesbian couple where both mothers had given birth, proving that a child born to one of the mothers is indeed the legal sibling of their brothers or sisters born to other mother. Similar issues would arise in a gay-male parented family when both men are the biological parent of siblings born into a family. However as mentioned in the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby submission, the LMAF campaign believes that there should not be such qualification period in the federal definition. Given that relationships can, and do, begin within the nine months of a pregnancy prior to the birth of a child (in both heterosexual and same sex relationships), LMAF believes that if all parties are willing to prescribe to the afore-mentioned de-facto definition of their relationship, then no qualification period should exist. (e) Do you have any comments about the suggested options for recognising a child in federal law (discussed in section 6.4 of the discussion paper)? The Love Makes A Family campaign believes that any recognition of child must reflect the best interests and rights of that child as well as the responsibilities of any parent. The Victorian Law Reform Commission Position Paper 2: Parentage (May 2005) developed excellent and inclusive principles to reflect this, principles wholeheartedly approved of by the Love Makes A Family Campaign: The best interests of children require certainty about the status of their parents. Certainty about parental status at the earliest possible time minimises the potential for disputes and litigation about a person s obligations and status in respect of the child, and promotes stability in the child s life. It is in the best interests of children for their parents to be subject to all of the usual parental obligations and responsibilities. It is in the public interest for people who become parents to be subject to all of the laws that flow from the parent child relationship. The law should aim to eliminate discrimination against children and parents based on their family type and relationship status. Legal recognition of diverse family types is an important way of countering discrimination. Concerns about 6.4.1 Option 1 and 6.4.2 Option 2. Not all women can access, want to use or choose to use assisted reproductive technology to conceive. In Victoria access is to ART is only available to single women, including by definition lesbian women, if they are either clinically or medically infertile. In some rare cases unexplained infertility also allows women access to ART. As such many Victoria women engage in home insemination with donors sought through the internet, prospective parenting groups such as Maybebaby, or with friends. The children born into these arrangements are just as deserving of having their families recognised, and their best interests and rights upheld by law, as children born through heterosexual sex or ART. In the attached FAR submission to the VLRC Position Paper 1: Access you will note that we comment that even if the requirements of marital status were removed from Victorian clinics, many women would still choose not to use ART simply because they do not wish to engage in technological intervention in order to conceive. Again children born into families through home insemination should not be penalised because of the choices their parents make about conception. Also in many circumstances only one partner in a same sex couple may require ART to conceive with the other partner conceiving through home insemination. 鱨վ born into these families would potentially have two different definitions of child possibly a state-based o{|  T p KLB2;*-=)il||||||hUzCJPJaJhUzOJPJQJ^JhUz56OJQJ^JhUz0JOJQJ^JjhUzOJQJU^Jh4OJQJ^JhUz6OJQJ^JhUz0J5OJQJ^JjhUz5OJQJU^JhUz5OJQJ^JhUzOJQJ^J0   h <=}~A$a$gdUz$a$gdUzgdUz?AB12>?*<1l$ 0`0a$gdUz$ 80`0a$gdUz$a$gdUz<?O14D  E!###\$^$p$.&0&B&P'R'd'x(z((#****K,-------/8/ཱཱཱཱཱིིིིིhUz6OJQJ^JhUz6>*OJQJ^JhUz>*OJQJ^JhUz5OJQJ^JhUzCJPJaJhUzOJPJQJ^JhUz56OJQJ^Jh4OJQJ^JhUzOJQJ^JhUzCJPJaJhUzOJPJQJ^J4lm E!F!!!##\$.&P'x("*#*U*V***--..r<$ dh`a$gdUz$a$gdUzne if one existed - and a federal based -one , thereby prescribing different responsibilities on either parent. Any consideration of either Option 1 or Option 2 would create a very unequal hierarchy of childrens best interests. Therefore Love Makes A Family rejects Option 1 and Option 2. (f) Do you have any recommendations about how to address the discrimination described in this paper? Formal recognition of same sex parents, children living in and born into Rainbow Families, no matter how they were conceived and removal of all homophobic discriminatory laws at a federal level would be a great start. I am more than happy to meet with the Commission to expand on any issues raised in this letter or our VLRC Submissions. Yours sincerely (electronically signed) [name removed] On behalf of the Love Makes A Family campaign [details removed] Email:  HYPERLINK "mailto:far_lobby@yahoo.com.au" \o "blocked::mailto:far_lobby@yahoo.com.au" far_lobby@yahoo.com.au www.lovemakesafamilyaustralia.org 8//<(==> ? ??I?Z?b?c???????ƺh}hUz0JOJQJ^JjhUzOJQJU^Jh4OJQJ^JhUz6OJQJ^JhUz5OJQJ^JUhUzOJQJ^Jr<s<<<'=(===h>i>>>>> ? ??I?[???????$a$gdUz,1h. A!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DA@D Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No List4U@4 Uz Hyperlink >*phB^@B Uz Normal (Web)dd[$\$'D   h<=} ~ A B 1 2 >?*<1lmEF.<"#UV!!""p$q$$$%%&%%%f&g&&&&& ' ''G'Y'''''''000000000000000000000000h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00(5?h00h00h00h00h00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000   h<=} ~ A B 1 2 >?*<1lmEF.<"#UV!!""p$q$$$%%&%%%f&g&&&&& ' ''G'Y'''''''h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh00uh000h00uh000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h00h000h00h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h000h00000Y(8/? Alr<?!?{K`''''XXX8@0(  B S  ? l츬,l칬,l캬,'   ' 9 *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace8 *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsState; *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsaddress: *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsStreet ܱ    / 8 '1s t ),|ORDGxyUV!#FI#TK !)$.$$$&' ''5'6'H'O''3333333333333333333333333333333 ''G'X''''' DDWD,D][D& DD8;#D?D\H Dg!Dw!D8/Dm11Dk5D~w;D2<DDID QD/;[D8/p[D9h[Dv \DD\DN'_D8UbDZdD\fDQ2!nDZVpDCqDKVxD'A|D40=CnUz}kYZ@ZjX#'P@P"P$P&P(PT@Px@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z ArialE& Century Gothic"qhbb1"H"H!24d''2QX)?Uz23 November 2006Oh+'0p   , 8 DPX`h3 November 2006 Normal.dot2Microsoft Office Word@f`@ 5@ 5"՜.+,D՜.+,L px  H' 3 November 2006 Title 8@ _PID_HLINKSAtXmailto:far_lobby@yahoo.com.auF*http://www.lovemakesafamilyaustralia.org/q"mailto:samesex@humanrights.gov.au  !"$%&'()*,-./0123456789:;<=>?@BCDEFGHJKLMNOPSRoot Entry FZ5UData #1Table+*WordDocument.DSummaryInformation(ADocumentSummaryInformation8ICompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q