Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General update the House on steps to remove discrimination in Commonwealth laws against Australians in same-sex relationships and their children? What support exists for these moves?

Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his concern on these matters. There are in fact a number of members of the opposition who are supporters of removing discrimination from Commonwealth laws. At one point, some were very strong supporters indeed. For instance, there was an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 13 August last year entitled, ‘Turnbull takes on mission for gay and lesbian rights’. In terms of advancing that mission, it said:

Malcolm Turnbull has embarked on a personal crusade to convince his cabinet colleagues to allow same-sex couples the same legal and financial rights as heterosexual married and de facto couples.

Indeed, consistent with those views, during the election campaign, in an interview with the Wentworth Courier he is reported to have said in response to a question about removing discrimination:

This is a policy initiative that I have championed for a long time.

We have got a champion for the cause here! Again, consistent with those views, on the front page of a newsletter to the electorate of the member for Wentworth—I assume this was during the election campaign—which again highlighted the article from the Sydney Morning Herald, the honourable member for Wentworth was quoted as saying:

While some important reforms to superannuation have been made there remain a number of legal and financial rights available to heterosexual couples not available to same-sex couples. That is not fair, and since my election I have sought to address and overcome this discrimination. I have pledged to continue this fight until justice is done.

That article has a reference to an annual dinner and the honourable member is quoted in his newsletter as saying, ‘We both enjoyed the Aurora annual dinner a few weeks ago and I was pleased that the auction item which I donated—dinner with me and Lucy—raised around $6,000 for Aurora’—a very worthy organisation. It is a wonderful thing that some people can afford $6,000 for a dinner. That is a terrific thing, and I am sure it was a wonderful dinner. But the reality is that as a result of the opposition delaying the passage of this legislation—the Commonwealth reforms to remove same-sex discrimination from superannuation laws—there will be many people who will be unable to afford dinner, and that potentially includes children. In the assessment of focus groups on this self-proclaimed champion on these issues, I think they would find a very lacklustre crusade and a very disappointing mission. I remind the honourable member of the commitment he gave to his electorate and I look forward to the opposition supporting this legislation.