Same Sex: Submissions

To whom it may concern,

RE: The federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has launched a national inquiry into discrimination against people in same-sex relationships.

I feel very strongly about the issue that same-sex couples continue to be discriminated against by the Federal and State Governments.

My partner of 12 years and I are both female. We also have a beautiful baby girl (11 months old) with the help from a friend who donated his sperm. There are many ways that the current legislations throughout Australia discriminates against us.

For example, my partner (our child’s non-birth mother), has no legal rights over our child. She can’t legally make medical decisions for me or our child if either of us were ill, she can’t even adopt our child, so if I died she wouldn’t be legally considered our child’s first of kin.

This saddens me immensely. I could continue on with a list of examples, but what we need is to be no longer discriminated against across Australia.

The right to non-discrimination is one of the most fundamental human rights in international law. Many of Australia’s laws exclude same-sex couples from financial and work-related entitlements and benefits that are enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Eliminating laws that discriminate against same-sex couples is an important step towards achieving equality for all Australians.

It is time to take a comprehensive and consistent approach to ensuring that same-sex couples across Australia can access the same financial and work-related entitlements as heterosexual couples.

Yours Sincerely,

Name withheld

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