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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (11 March) . . Page.. 833 ..

Creating equality under the law for all members of our community shows that this Assembly as an institution believes in equal rights for its citizens and is prepared to back those beliefs up with action, not just words. As leaders in our community, we need to promote equality in our society and encourage tolerance in our community. Queer rights are human rights, and a failure to protect them diminishes the human rights of everyone in our community.

This bill makes simple amendments to a number of laws to recognise same-sex relationships in relation to domestic violence, property law, medical treatment, guardianship of the ageing or mentally infirm, disclosure of pecuniary interests and access to some partner benefits under ACT law. The bill also covers how transgender and intersex people are treated when required to undergo a body search by a person in authority.

If this bill passes the Assembly, as I hope it will today, it will give people in same-sex relationships a number of new rights. They will be able to access medical information and make decisions about treatment and organ donation of their partners. They will also be more certain of their rights in relation to the care of an ageing or mentally deteriorating partner. They will also be properly included as family members in a number of pieces of legislation, allowing them access to the courts and proper consideration in situations such as domestic violence and criminal cases. These are things that are long overdue. We have heard of many people going through an already traumatic time having their situation made even worse by the discrimination inherent in our legal system.

This bill is only a first step, and a small step at that. The legislation this bill amends does not deal with the wider and more controversial issues of legal discrimination that queer Canberrans face under ACT law. It does not deal with a number of issues that I believe could have easily been included. It does not extend workers compensation to the partners of people in a same-sex relationship or allow them to sue for damages under the Compensation (Fatal Injuries) Act. I hope this is not due to sentiments similar to those expressed in the scrutiny of bills report for this piece of legislation, which states that expanding the number of possible recipients for compensation may increase insurance premiums.

I am unsure about other members, but the argument that discrimination should be tolerated because people might have to pay more for insurance is one that I find disgusting. On that basis, we could discriminate against just about anybody because it might save us a few dollars. I sincerely hope that that argument is not proffered as we continue this debate.

This bill does not deal with the issues of adoption, civil unions, anti-vilification legislation, the defence of provocation, normalising surgery performed upon intersex children, or any of the other issues discussed in the government's issues paper. This bill has properly been the subject of community consultation, and the importance of making those consultations and working with Canberra's queer communities will become evident. It is essential that this type of reform be done properly the first time so that vast numbers of amendments are not required in the future.

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