Recently I have been asked how my personal views coincide with Labor’s policy on equal marriage rights. My view is informed by the work I have done to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation from our workplace laws.
Labor has a long and proud history of achievements when it comes to creating equal treatment for the GLBTI community. Labor in Government has introduced reforms that have removed discrimination from 84 Commonwealth laws to ensure equal treatment for same-sex couples in the areas of tax, social security, health, aged care, superannuation, immigration, child support and family law.
Some of these achievements include:
- Medicare and the PBS safety net: Same-sex couples and their dependent children can now access Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety nets as a family.
- Superannuation: Labor’s reforms removed discrimination in Commonwealth Super schemes, so that same-sex partners can access benefits of deceased partners and their children. Labor has also makes it easier for regulated super funds to recognise same-sex relationships
- Immigration: Same-sex couples and their children are now considered “members of the family” for visa purposes, and Australian citizens, permanent residents and some New Zealand citizens can apply for the same partner visa as opposite-sex partners.
- Aged care and social security: Young people can receive recognition of independence for Youth Allowance if they are in a same-sex relationship for over 12 months, lesbian relationships are now recognised as a qualifying relationship for Widow Allowance, and the family home is now exempt from the assets test when one partner enters a nursing care home and the other partner continues to reside there.
- Family law and child support: Same-sex couples who have children using artificial conception procedures are now recognised as parents under Commonwealth law, and same-sex couples can apply for child-support on separation.
- Tax off-sets: Same-sex couples can now access tax concessions previously denied to them, such as eligibility for the dependent spouse tax offset, the next medical expense tax offset or the transfer of unused Senior Australians tax offset.
Labor in Government has also committed to significant funding for suicide prevention and mental health, including $22.4 million targeted at groups and communities that have a high risk of suicide, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and intersex people.
These reforms and many others, have provided tangible, real improvements to the rights of GLBTI people in Australia.
In Victoria, the Brumby Government has established a relationship recognition scheme, which is recognised by a wide range of Commonwealth laws. I support this Relationship Register, and I support the recognition of gay marriage, as I have said many times in the past.
The achievements of the Gillard Labor Government shows what a Labor government can do to implement real change. They also show how important it is to have progressive voices inside Government to continue to advocate for further improvements.
If elected as the Member for Melbourne, I would continue work within the Labor Party and the community to push for further improvements to the rights of GLBTI people – including equal marriage rights.
Cath Bowtell
