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 The first of the federal government’s same-sex reforms has been rolled out but it’s off to a rocky start. Adam Bub and Reg Domingo report.
The Rudd Government last week chose superannuation as the starting point for its law reform package that aims to eliminate legal and financial discrimination against same-sex couples. The legislation will ensure that, in the event of retirement or the death of a life partner, same-sex couples will be able to automatically claim the same superannuation benefits and tax concessions as heterosexual couples.
But while any move towards equality is to be commended, the reforms have attracted a string of criticisms.
Being only applicable to those on Commonwealth superannuation schemes – judges, federal public servants, defence personnel, politicians, et al – some say the reforms falls short of the Rudd Government’s promise of equality to the broader GLBT community.
“The bulk of people work in the private sector,” Greens Senator Kerry Nettle told SX. “This is not the removal of discrimination that the government promised the public.”
Others point out that because private superannuation scheme providers are not obliged to provide the same level of equality, there remains the burden for same-sex couples of having to continually shop around for gay-friendly schemes.
But the announcement also elicited a reaction from the Coalition who, earlier this week, has signalled it will refer the reforms to a Senate committee, potentially stalling its passage. This inquiry, they said, will consider whether other forms of interdependency, such as companionate relationships, should also be included in the legislation.
“The coalition supports the legislation in-principle, however has reservations about certain aspects of it that do not go to the essential point of eliminating discrimination,” said Shadow Attorney-General, George Brandis.
Therefore the reforms, scheduled for July 1, could be pushed back all the way to September.
Such a move has angered GLBT activists who have previously stressed the urgency of the superannuation component in same-sex reforms. Many cite the move as reminiscent of the Howard Government policy of recognising same-sex partners as interdependents rather than spouses. Others, put simply, say time is running out for elderly same-sex couples.
John Challis, 84, is the convenor for Comsuper Action Committee, a lobby group that seeks same-sex equality in superannuation. He said he was “dismayed and appalled” by the potential delay.
“Many elderly and frail former Commonwealth super recipients, who have waited since 2004 when the Coalition first promised this reform, will now have further anxiety and concern for the future welfare of their same-sex partners,” Challis told SX.
Challis, who has lived with his partner, Arthur Cheeseman, for more than 40 years, and are both relying on their Comsuper pension, said that the Coalition’s focus on interdependency (a term that describes the situation of two people that live together who aren’t spouses, such as the disabled and the people who care for them) “equates same-sex couples with carers”.
Others, however, are giving the Coalition the benefit of a doubt.
“What I understand is that this isn’t the Coalition saying same-sex couples should be recognised as interdependents, but that interdependents should be recognised as well,” said Rodney Croome, spokesperson for the Australian Coalition for Equality.
“We have no objection to recognition of interdependent partners, as long as it doesn’t hold up the process of recognising same-sex couples ,” Croome told SX. “My hope is that if there is an inquiry it will be over and done with very quickly. It’s a straightforward issue and there doesn’t have to be a protracted debate.”
With additional reporting by Iain Clacher
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