Same-Sex: Forum Alice Springs

National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same-Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits

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WRITTEN NOTES

NOTES FROM ALICE SPRINGS COMMUNITY FORUM 6.30 - 8.30pm (3 November 2006)

No audio files are available for this forum.

22 people attended the community forum in Darwin and discussed a range of issues.

The following is an overview of the comments made during the community forum.

These comments reflect the views of the participants in the forum; they do not necessarily represent the final conclusions of the Inquiry.

Superannuation

One speaker says that one of the really important issues is discrimination in superannuation. She has been nominating her partner for the last 12 years, but there is still no guarantee that her partner will get the benefits on her death.

Another woman says she has had legal advice that she would have to 'will' her super to herself, so that her partner can get the benefits through her estate.

One person makes the point that at least at the moment, gay and lesbian people have more choice in relation to superannuation funds. However another person says that very much depends where you work.

A speaker said that HIV brought discrimination against gay and lesbian people to the fore - when people started dying, and when partners thought they had access to the superannuation of their dead partners, only to realise that they did not. She says that years ago she was on a panel about superannuation when people of her generation were dying. She asks 'how do you judge the impact of that?' She says it's not always about the hip pocket.

Wills

One woman says that she has a Will which nominates one of her family members instead of her partner, but she has a contractual agreement with that family member that it will 'bounce back' to her partner in the event of her death.

One man and his ex-partner were 'married' 30 years ago. It was a civil ceremony. It caused quite a bit of controversy at the time and attracted a lot of homophobic sentiments. He says this discrimination has been going on for three decades at least. He says he is in a long term relationship now, and is financially independent from his partner. He says that in his Will he has organised what should go to his partner through his family. He is concerned that current legislation could override the express desires in his Will.

Relationship recognition in Britain

One speaker says she and her partner are getting a civil union through the British Government at the moment. They are trying to access probate under the British system to try and get out of the Australian system which is discriminatory. They are still trying to find out the legalities of it.

Social security laws

A speaker notes that in many ways gay and lesbian people are advantaged by social security laws. However, she says, there are really crucial areas in social security that gay and lesbian people are not able to access. When she moved out of home, she tried to get youth allowance. She could only access the dependant rate because there was an assumption that her parents helped her. The only way to get the independent rate is to have a child, get married, (or heterosexual de facto relationship), or prove that it is unreasonable to live at home. She says there are ways to get around a lot of these things, but that creates a lot of pressure you should not have to go to. She says it is not just the social security laws, it's the ideologies that go along with them.

Census and other forms

A woman says that when she had a right wing Christian lecturer at university, he would quote the census and say there are only 0.2 percent of people in gay and lesbian relationships. The lecturer would use this statistic to exclude gay and lesbian people from consideration in his arguments. She says this is a way in which the census can be used against the gay and lesbian population.

Another man says that the census can work very strongly for gay and lesbian people, if it gets the real figures out there. But the way the census is currently designed, people are only counted if gay and lesbian members of the community living in the same household.

One speaker says that she has been in a relationship for four years, but on all forms all the time, she is just a single person. She says that forms don't even recognise her relationship.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

One woman says that in relation to access to ART, there are many contradictions between states and territories. In the NT, you can have a birth certificate with two lesbians on it, but lesbians cannot legally access ART. She says a lot of women lie and do not say who the donor is. This can affects the family tax benefit, single parent pension etc, and it has repercussions for how lesbians conceive.

She says that because it's not legal for her to access ART in the territory, she has to fund herself to go to WA. This is in contrast to her friend who is in an opposite-sex partnership, who gets flown to Adelaide, and put up in accommodation while she is accessing ART. Whereas, she says, lesbians have to pay for themselves to fly to WA or NSW, to do the right thing in terms of ticking right boxes down the track in terms of getting the Family Tax Benefit and other things. She says this has huge financial implications.

Another woman says that it is illegal in NT for a lesbian's partner to impregnate her. It has to be done either by yourself or by a medical practitioner.

Passports for the children of lesbian couples

One couple who were recently in Alice Springs had trouble getting a passport for baby, because the baby's birth certificate had two women on it.

One woman had a donor-conceived child and now has to go through hell to get a passport. She says she has to explain her sexual activity or whatever of twenty years ago to the woman at the post office.

Taxation and Family Tax Benefit

One woman talks about the child that she and her partner (biological mother) were both raising. Her partner was able to claim the Family Tax Benefit but she was very much left out of that process. She says there was nothing 'together' about it. She says this is the same for tax.

One person asks how one part of the government can recognise same-sex relationships, and another part not? Another speaker comments that when taking your money, they seem to recognise same-sex relationships.

Educational campaign

A number of people ask if there can be an educational campaign alongside any legislative reform. One woman says that her relatives and friends do not have a clue about what discrimination exists. Another man says that we need to educate the community about the extent and amount of discrimination that exists against gay and lesbian couples. Another man comments that we need to get that message across to school students. The earlier you get it out, the more effective the message is.

Working around discriminatory laws

One woman comments that generally, the people who are more discriminated against the most are the least able to negotiate legislation, or get a lawyer or accountant to help them get around certain discriminatory legislation. There are ways of getting around the impact of some of the laws, but not everyone can access those methods.

Another woman suggests that it is up to older lesbians and gays to teach younger lesbians and gays about ways of getting around these laws. But some people do not have those networks there.

Another man that while gay and lesbian people continue to find ways around discriminatory laws, or go offshore, we are pushing discrimination further under the carpet. He says we shouldn't be forced to try and find loopholes.

Workplace discrimination

One man says he has concerns with the new Work Choices legislation. In particular he is concerned that the ability to negotiate for benefits for gay and lesbian people are pushed even further under.

One woman says that perhaps it is not overt discrimination but her partner has to work at Christmas, and has for the last few years. She says people with children get school holidays, but if you do not have children, you do not get school holiday leave.

Another woman says that in the area that she works in, people being 'out' is just normal. She says she is much more comfortable in Alice Springs about her relationship than she was in Sydney.

Another woman comments that people have to get to a point where they feel strong enough about their sexuality before they can be comfortable and stand up for themselves. Gays and lesbians, she says, tend not to end up in mainstream jobs anymore, because we tend to opt for the less mainstream, more accepting professions.

Discrimination in Alice Springs

One man says that Alice allows people to challenge the status quo.

One woman says that gay and lesbian people are subject to a lot less discrimination than Aboriginal people in Alice Springs. A number of people agree with this statement.

One man says that he works at an independent religious high school, and the upper echelons of the synod know about his sexuality. As long as he does his job properly, his sexuality is not raised as an issue.

Another man says he thinks there is still a bit of a pink ceiling, and that is the reason that a lot of people stay quiet about their sexuality.