Australia To Improve Gay Rights

[LaoPo]

Australia to improve gay rights

By Nick Bryant - BBC News, Sydney

The Australian government has announced plans to remove about 100 laws it says discriminate against gay couples.

The laws include those preventing them from benefiting from financial and social entitlements.

But the government will not include any changes to the Marriage Law to pave the way for gay marriage.

Gay and lesbian groups have said there will not be true equality in Australia until people are allowed the right to marry their partner of choice.

Pension rights

This is a wide-ranging legislative overhaul, much bigger in scope than the new Labor government had originally predicted.

When it announced its intention to eliminate laws which discriminated against gay couples, it thought there would be about 50.

In fact, there are double that number, affecting entitlements such as social security, pensions, veterans' payments, health, taxation and workers' compensation.

Presently, for instance, gay couples have little or no rights to pension payments if their partner dies, unlike married or de facto couples.

Similarly, the children of gay couples have little or no rights to such benefits.

The government promised to remove these discriminatory laws by the middle of next year - at an estimated cost of over A$370m ($346m, £176m).

But its refusal to reform the marriage act to legalise gay marriage has angered many gay and lesbian pressure groups.

The government continues to believe that marriage is between a man and woman, and refuses to support any measures which seek to mimic that arrangement.

In particular, it remains opposed to moves in the Australian Capital Territory to allow same sex couples to hold formal ceremonies recognising their relationships.

Gay rights campaigners have been highly critical - arguing that discrimination will continue until people can marry a partner of their choice.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7374710.stm

LaoPo

[endure]

How does the law operate in Oz? Is it federal like the US?

[ProThaiExpat]

I am in Sydney at the momnt and the local press treated this issue somwht differently.

The healine read something like "More of the same, Rudd doesn't com down on this issue as gays expected".

They mildly slammed Rudd for not backing movemnt on this issue and left the impression that whatever any individual state might due to pass local laws, the Federal Governemnt will veto them, as Howard did when he was in power.

It went on to say that the New South Wales Governemnt was putting on hold its plans to provide domestic partner registration in its jurisdiction.

The Capital Territories government seems to be the most agressive 0n this issue but all their efforts have been shot down previously by the Howard government.

Edited April 30, 2008 by ProThaiExpat

[PeaceBlondie]

Never been to Australia, but reforming 100 laws that restrict the rights of gay couples sounds like a step in the right direction, if they can do it.

[LaoPo]

It seems to me that Australian laws are way back, antique almost, in comparison with more progressive countries in Europe...

http://www.glrl.org.au/

In fact, Australian laws are discriminating same sex relations.

edit:

"Neither Same-sex marriage nor civil unions are recognised under Australian federal law and, since 2004, the Marriage Act 1961 explicitly recognises marriage as being "the union of a man and a woman". However, all states and territories currently have laws in place which recognise cohabitating same-sex couples as de facto partners, offering them the same rights as unmarried opposite-sex couples. These rights only apply on a state and territory level, with same-sex couples currently not offered the same rights as unmarried opposite-sex couples in one hundred pieces of federal legislation. This may change in future under a full Labor Government in Australia.[1]

Under section 51(xxi)[2] of the Australian Constitution, the Parliament of Australia is vested with the powers to make laws with respect to marriage."

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recognition_o...ps_in_Australia

LaoPo

Edited April 30, 2008 by LaoPo

[dukkha]

As an Aussie I am keen to know if my thai partner who lives with me in Thailand would be eligible for entitlements were we to have a civil union ....I think not.

[Scott]

I don't know a lot about Aussie law, but I do know that some years back, the gov't had (quietly, I believe) allowed for the immigration of gay partners. Had a good Australian friend, whose partner was allowed to join him because they had leased an apartment together for a long time, had joint bank account etc.

This is good news and a step in the right direction.

The issue of marriage and civil unions will take time. A lot of mainstream people aren't ready for this yet and in democracies, these are the ones who vote.

[dukkha]

Yes Scott, we made the trip to Aus as a gay couple showing leases in Bangkok and bank acounts and were granted a three month visa in one week...what I am more interested in is that we do not intend living in Australia but more interested if, as my partner, he could, upon my demise, be entitled to 5/8ths of my government pension as are heterosexual couples when one dies, that is, the one who has been reiving the government pension, would be a handsome monthly income for him....guess time will tell but feel that if the partner is not a resident of Australian he would not be entitled no matter how enlightened the government may beome in time on this issue.. Dukkha

[LaoPo]

Yes Scott, we made the trip to Aus as a gay couple showing leases in Bangkok and bank acounts and were granted a three month visa in one week...what I am more interested in is that we do not intend living in Australia but more interested if, as my partner, he could, upon my demise, be entitled to 5/8ths of my government pension as are heterosexual couples when one dies, that is, the one who has been reiving the government pension, would be a handsome monthly income for him....guess time will tell but feel that if the partner is not a resident of Australian he would not be entitled no matter how enlightened the government may beome in time on this issue.. Dukkha

Did you search for an asnwer in this link ? This organization can help you:

http://www.glrl.org.au/

LaoPo

[dukkha]

Lao thank you for your assistance, it will take some time for me to read through to see if my partner would be entitled to my superannuation upon my death if he were to reside in Thailand...appreciate your efforts in giving me some kind of information in this area..so cannot make any comment until I have made a decent research into the whole subject..my gut feeling is that if he were to continue to reside in Thailand the Aus Government would pay little attention to our situation but hope springs eternal, again thank you for your assistance... Dukkha