Howard Says ‘Complicated’, Parliamentary ‘ad hoc’ Committee Says Otherwise

- Advertisement -

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission released its report Same Sex: Same Entitlements detailing the 58 federal laws in which same sex couples face discrimination in June. Following the release of the report, Democrat Senators Lyn Allison, Andrew Bartlett and Stott Despoja introduced a bill – Same Sex: Same Entitlements Bill 2007 – into Parliament. However, following heated Liberal Party Cabinet meetings in which John Howard is reported to have declared the issue of redressing discrimination ‘complicated’ and untimely, the bill failed to find the necessary government support to be referred to a Senate or House of Representatives Committee for inquiry and eventual debate.

Howard’s comments drew the criticism of gay rights activists around the country. Rodney Croome said in an Australian Coalition for Equality statement, ‘Either Australians in same-sex relationships have the kind of basic entitlements in national law which they already have in state law and which heterosexual couples take for granted, or they continue to suffer deep and often traumatic financial and legal disadvantages – what’s so complicated about that?’

Since the bill could not find support to be referred to committee, Senator Allison set up an ‘ad hoc’ committee to conduct an inquiry into the bill. This is only the second time in Australian history that a Parliamentary committee has been set up independent of the Senate or House of Representatives. All major political parties are represented on the committee, which consists of eight members: Senator Lyn Allison AD, VIC; Senator Andrew Bartlett AD, QLD; Senator Carol Brown ALP, TAS; Mr Warren Entsch MP LP, QLD; Senator Barnaby Joyce NP, QLD; Senator Claire Moore ALP, QLD; Dr Mal Washer MP LP, WA; Senator Ruth Webber ALP, WA.

Committee Chair Sen. Allison ‘was very pleased when we got each party represented because that meant there was someone fighting within those parties to get these reforms going.’

The committee received 27 submissions from ‘key groups’ in addition to having HREOC appear before the committee and a one day hearing in Canberra, where witnesses appeared on teleconference.

The bill remains a live bill, though Sen. Allison said it is rare for a private bill (a bill that is not introduced by a political party) to be brought to the floor for debate. Nevertheless, she believes, that the issue of discrimination against same sex couples ‘has become mainstream for this election’ because the HREOC report, whose recommendations the proposed bill takes in their entirety, ‘was such a strong report and the recommendations were so clear.’

While the bill is unlikely to see debate in the near future, the issue is far from over in Sen. Allison’s mind.

‘After the elections, the pressure needs to be applied to the government to do something. And beforehand we need to be getting those commitments from every candidate in the country,’ she said. ‘People need to be really well informed… to look at the bill, look at the HREOC report and look at the report into our inquiry. When you go along to see your member of Parliament ask, “isn’t this an issue that is a human rights issue and one of equity and a fair go?”’