Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

The government is not able to accept this amendment for reasons that have been set down on many previous occasions. The Income Tax Assessment Act does not treat same-sex relationships in the same way as marriages or de facto relationships. Whether that general treatment changes in the future is a matter still to be determined. It is a wrong characterisation to say that we are extending discrimination by this amendment. These amendments to the capital gains tax arrangements are consistent with the current treatment of capital gains tax issues and tax issues generally in the Income Tax Assessment Act. As and when there is a change overall, that will apply to taxation arrangements overall. The government is not going to change those arrangements in a piecemeal fashion.

I think it is well known that the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is conducting an inquiry right now into the entitlements of same-sex couples, including entitlements in tax legislation. Once that HREOC report is received by the government we will consider its recommendations. Prior to that we will not be seeking in some ad hoc fashion to alter the current treatment. It is a fact that there is a very long tradition in Western society of treating marriage as a special relationship, and indeed discriminating in favour of marriage. That is a very long tradition and one that virtually every Western country has had as part of its history. Now that is breaking down and there is a move to treat de facto relationships in the same way as marriage, which much of our law does. Of course that begs the question: why not same-sex couples? I understand that and I respect Senator Murray’s motivations. With great respect, I do not think it is right to characterise the long tradition of discriminating in favour of marriage in law in Western society as somehow the same as the appalling racial discrimination practised in parts of Africa. With great respect to Senator Murray, I do not think that is fair or proper. I am sure that is not what he really meant. I respect where he is coming from but I do not think it is right to characterise the discrimination in favour of marriage, which has been a feature of Western Christian society for a very long time, in that way.

It is well known that the government is very alive to the movement of public opinion on this matter. With great respect also to Senator Sherry, I do not think it is a matter of being arrogant. We are sensitive to the fact that there remain millions of Australians who believe that the country should continue to discriminate in favour of marriage as a bedrock institution in our Christian Western society. There are many others in the ranks of the coalition who think that same-sex couples should be treated in the same way as married or de facto couples. We understand that but we are not as a government going to deal with it in any ad hoc, random fashion. We will deal with it by way of due process. We will receive the HREOC report, we will consider its recommendations and we will make comprehensive decisions accordingly. We are not in a position to support this amendment.