Phew... what a fortnight! - MCV - Melbourne Community Voice

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Phew... what a fortnight!

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Corey Irlam from the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby explains the government’s latest steps towards equality.

The last two weeks have seen mainstream society shine a torch on the inequality faced by members of the GLBTI community.

The Federal government announced its intention to amend over 100 discriminatory pieces of legislation, ensuring same-sex couples will be equal to their opposite-sex cousins. The ACT government passed its Civil Partnerships Bill, and the country’s broader media discussed the question of gay marriage.

Overall, the past fortnight has been a positive and large step forward for our community.

Commonwealth Law Reform

The Rudd government has announced its intention to introduce legislation in the winter sitting of Parliament (May – June). The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s website lists the impending Bill as Same-Sex Relationships (Provision of Equal Entitlements) Bill (No 1).

The government has indicated these reforms will cover tax, superannuation, social security, health, aged care, veterans’ entitlements, workers’ compensation, employment entitlements, and other areas of Commonwealth administration.

Areas such as tax, social security and veterans’ entitlements will be phased in by mid-2009 to ensure people have the time to address their personal finances.

These changes recognise same-sex couples as equal to opposite-sex couples for the purpose of Federal entitlements. Whilst the government continues to discriminate against same-sex couples and individuals in some areas (e.g. marriage laws) the significance of these changes should be celebrated as a ‘win’ by our community.

Over 71 per cent of Australians supported these changes, many of whom were astounded that this form of discrimination still occurred.

It should be noted that the government has indicated that not all same-sex couples will be financially better off under these amendments.

Same-sex couples are currently assessed as individuals for government benefits: this will be changed sometime in mid-2009. This will mean that you may receive an adjusted amount from the government depending on your individual situation. Further details will be provided when the government makes these announcements.

The government has also indicated their support for our families. The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, in his media release, said: “Importantly the reforms will also ensure children are not disadvantaged because of the structure of their family.” This is a positive step forward that recognises the importance of protecting our children’s rights.

There are a number of questions surrounding this reform that the government have yet to detail; specifically, their position on adoption, surrogacy and access to the Family Court to name a few. These issues must not be forgotten, and the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) will continue to put pressure on the Government to ensure equality for same-sex couples.

As a whole, this is a step in the right direction, and the Rudd Government should be congratulated on for going beyond the recommendations of the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements report by identifying some forty-plus additional areas of discrimination. You may wish to send Robert McClelland an email to thank him for this introduction: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

ACT Civil Partnerships

On Thursday of last week, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed the ACT Civil Partnerships Bill.

Two items of the ACT’s legislation are different to the Victorian Relationships Act passed earlier this year. The ACT will recognise other schemes within Australia, such as Tasmania and Victoria’s, and will only require one person to reside in Victoria.

Given the Federal government’s position on a ‘Nationally consistent state-based register scheme’, which the ACT was forced to conform to, it will be interesting to see if the Victorian government will include the above changes in its amendments to the Bill later in the year to cover off Caring relationships.

It was disappointing to see the Stanhope government remove the legislative ceremony from its Bill, but heartening to see that they will perform an administrative ceremony by a representative of the ACT Register-General.

Help us to help you!

Lobbying Canberra is a more costly exercise than lobbying the same state in which you live. The VGLRL is working hard to represent your best interests at a national level, but we can’t do it without your support.

This week we have introduced online-donation functionality through our website. If you would like to support the VGLRL, which is working for your equality, social justice and human rights, why not log on now and make a donation? Your money can help us to make a difference, not only for you, but for every member of the Victorian gay and lesbian community.

www.vglrl.org.au