Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to document No. 17, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report entitled Same-sex: same entitlements, which is the report from their inquiry into discrimination against people in same-sex relationships. I would like to firstly, again, commend the report to the Senate and to anybody who is actually interested in the facts about this issue. There is a longstanding problem with quite severe discrimination being experienced by a range of Australians who are in same-sex relationships.

As part of speaking to this report, I would like to note the legislation that has been tabled in this place, in my name and in the name of my fellow Democrat senators, which simply and very succinctly seeks to implement the recommendations of the report that I am discussing at the moment. The recommendations are actually quite simple. The report identifies I think about 56 or so—certainly over 50—pieces of legislation at Commonwealth level where discrimination currently exists under law against people in same-sex relationships. The report identifies a simple way of addressing and amending each of those pieces of legislation, which is basically to change the definition of ‘de facto relationship’ and ‘partner’ to take into account same-sex partners and same-sex relationships under the definition of de facto.

Giving people in same-sex relationships the same status as people in opposite-sex de facto relationships has nothing to do with the issue of marriage or recognition of marriage as a legal contract. It specifically has nothing to do with the issue of adoption by same-sex couples either. In many cases it is simply about people’s financial and work related entitlements and benefits. It is a simple right of equality for those people. That is a right that the Prime Minister himself has said should apply. He has said that a number of times. Unfortunately, he has not acted to put in place that right and that equality. That is a matter of great frustration for the Democrats. In 1995 we first put in place legislation and we followed it up with a Senate committee inquiry which detailed a lot of the discrimination and the enormous impact that it has. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commissioner said that discrimination against same-sex couples ‘is there in the statute books in black and white’. He stated that it exists around basic issues of:

… employment, workers’ compensation, tax, social security, veterans’ entitlements, health care, superannuation, aged care and migration.

He went on to say:

I am still incredulous that there could be such blatant and widespread discrimination against an entire sector of our community in such fundamental areas of life.

This affects thousands of Australians, sometimes in enormous, very personal and often quite hurtful ways—particularly if they are dealing with the death of a partner. If your partner dies and your relationship has been in place for decades but you have to fight even to be recognised as having any right at all as their long-time partner, then it is not surprising that some people will find that extremely hurtful and insulting. It is that basic financial discrimination that should be addressed.

The private senator’s legislation that the Democrats have put forward was considered this morning in an ad hoc hearing of a number of members of parliament and senators from a range of different parties. We had to do that because, unfortunately, the coalition members in the Senate refused to allow the legislation to be considered by a Senate committee. It is a disgrace to prevent legislation from even being considered. You do not have to agree with the legislation, but to prevent it from even being considered by a Senate committee is appalling and sets a very bad precedent. It was an ad hoc committee which did not have formal parliamentary privilege but senators and members got together anyway. Mr Warren Entsch and Dr Mal Washer from the Liberal Party and Senator Barnaby Joyce from the National Party came along, as did Senators Moore and Webber from the ALP. My Democrat colleague Senator Allison—who had just heard from the human rights commissioner and others about the specifics of this legislation—also attended. The ad hoc committee is hoping to table its views and its report in the chamber next week so that we can get movement on this issue. We know the solution—it is there in this report. We know that across all political parties there is widespread support for implementing the solution. Let’s just get on with it and remove the discrimination now. We have been waiting far too long.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.