ࡱ> )+*` bjbjss .$$  Hrtttttt$hG *::: r:r::: :r0:q q :q :8:0 HHHDDHHH Jodie [name withheld] [Details removed] May 25, 2006 Same-Sex Inquiry Human Rights Unit Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 (via email) Dear Sir/Madam Re: National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same-Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits I write with regards to the current Same-Sex Inquiry that you are presiding over so that I may contribute a personal perspective of how Commonwealth law and benefits discriminates against me as a person in a same-sex family. My partner and I have been together for eight years, we have six children between us. We have private health benefits which recognises us as a family and yet we are not recognised by the Australian government as a family for either the Medicare safety net or the PBS safety net. Because we are not recognised by the Australian government as a family we both have to meet the safety net individually as two separate families. This means that we have to pay twice the medical expenses a de facto heterosexual couple has to pay to reach the safety net. This is discriminatory and unfair. It places an extra financial burden on us as a family, when we are no different to any other family in this country. We should have the same rights and responsibilities as de facto heterosexual families. Another area we are discriminated against is with my employment. I work under the Social and Community Services - Western Australia Award 2002/FED, which defines spouse as a person of the opposite sex to the employee who lives with the employee as his or her husband or wife on a bona fide basis (25.2.2[a]). This means that I am not entitled to bereavement leave or carer's leave for my partner or her children as they are not considered to be members of my immediate family. Even though we all reside together as one family in the one household we are discriminated against because we are the same sex. Thank you for this opportunity Jodie 'K h} hq6]hb5Phq,1h. A!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DAD Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListH@H b5P Balloon TextCJOJQJ^JaJ "&r .r 00h0h0  :'"Sb5PCnq}cm,@Pp@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial5& zaTahoma"h33Tz0Tz024d2P)?q2Oh+'0d   , 8DLT\ Normal.dot4Microsoft Office Word@@z균@z균Tz՜.+,0 px  0  Title  !"#&Root Entry F_!(1Table WordDocument.SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89qRoot Entry F Š-1Table WordDocument.SummaryInformation( ,DocumentSummaryInformation8pCompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q՜.+,D՜.+,< px  0  Title4 $,