On September 19, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) hosted the Western Australian launch of the HREOC Inquiry Report 2007 Same Sex: Same Entitlements atthe Equal Opportunity Commission. The HREOC inquiry began over a year ago, culminating in the release of a report in June. Human Rights Commissioner Graham Innes spoke at the launch of the final report along with former Democrats Senator Brian Grieg, Pride WA Patrons Kelly and Sam Pilgrim-Byrne, and Maxine Drake of the Health Consumer’s Council. Approximately 30 people, including reporters from Channel 10 News and the West Australian, attended the event.
In opening the launch’s, Commissioner Innes said, ‘Even after a year of thinking and talking about this topic, I am still incredulous that there could be such blatant and widespread discrimination against an entire sector of our community in such a fundamental area of law. We really didn’t have to look very hard to find almost 60 federal laws, which clearly and explicitly discriminate against same sex couples in employment, worker’s compensation, tax law, social security, veteran’s entitlement, health care, superannuation, age care and migration.’
Commissioner Innes explained that this discrimination affects people at every stage of their life and extends beyond same sex couples to same sex families.
‘The only good thing about the blatant discrimination we found is that it’s easily fixed… We have done the work. Our first appendix to the report sets out every federal law which needs amending, which definitions need to be amended and how to amend them.’
Commissioner Innes told OUTinPerth that as he has launched the report in various cities around Australia he has had ‘very positive support’ and believes ‘the vast majority of Australians support these laws. It’s just a question of getting politicians to change their commitment into action and make the legislative changes.’ÂÂ
