Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cormann; it is very important. Marriage provides the umbrella under which children grow, are nurtured, are cared for, are loved—it provides the umbrella under which children can prosper and learn and be all that they can be as Australian citizens. We want to support that institution in this place. Sadly, it concerns me immensely that the way this bill is drafted undermines the institution of marriage. I hope with all my heart that the government’s amendments that have been tabled today, the 18 pages of amendments to its own bill, will clarify and address the issues that were raised in the Liberal senators’ additional comments to the committee report that has been tabled this afternoon. I hope with all my heart that this legislation will not attack or undermine the institution of marriage, that it will not put the best interests of the child second, third or fourth but first and make them paramount. And I hope that, in achieving the objectives of removing discrimination against same-sex couple, those institutions, those things that we hold dear, that we know are important, will be safeguarded and protected.

I note, as I noted earlier in terms of the institution of marriage, that it is proven, that the evidence shows, that children with parents in a marriage relationship end up being healthier, wealthier and better educated, and have better outcomes in terms of job prospects and so on, compared with other relationships. That is good; that should be acknowledged. I thank the Australian Institute of Family Studies for providing that evidence to our committee in the different forums that we had.

In conclusion, I thank my colleagues Liberal Senators Trood and Fisher, and I thank the committee for the work it did in a short amount of time under considerable pressure. I think we have delivered a report which will be considered and reviewed. In the context of this debate we will now have to carefully review the 18 pages of amendments before the Senate, in its wisdom, will decide on this matter.