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Same-Sex: NOTES FROM WOLLONGONG COMMUNITY FORUM

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

WRITTEN NOTES



NOTES FROM WOLLONGONG COMMUNITY FORUM 6.30 - 8.30pm (12 October 2006)

No audio files are available for this forum.

20 people attended the community forum at Wollongong 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.

Marriage

One woman comments that some lesbians are not interested in the idea of marriage. She says that feminists like her who have fought for independence for decades, have no desire to be married to their same-sex partners. She says that many feminist lesbians still place a very high value on independence, and, for example, maintain separate bank accounts. She concludes by saying that discrimination against gay and lesbian people has more to do with religion than law or politics.

One man begins by saying there has to be both changes in law and in education. He believes that relationship recognition, and the recognition of gay marriage in particular, is the key. Until then, he says, gay and lesbian people will remain second-class citizens. He says that there should be marriage rather than civil unions because gay and lesbian people need to have exactly the same relationship recognition as heterosexual people. Even though the current government will not recognise marriage, it is important to lay the groundwork now, so that future governments have a blueprint for thorough law reform that provides full equality.

Medicare Levy

Another woman comments that the Medicare Levy presents a significant financial disadvantage for members of same-sex couples. She says that the threshold is much higher for a single person than it is for a couple.

Migration

One woman talks about the fact that it took her partner, who is English, 3.5 years to get an interdependency visa to come to Australia, even though they had been together for 20 years. She said there were many humiliating aspects to the process, in terms of what they had to prove. She said the other disturbing aspect of the process is that fees are charged at every stage, so it is also very expensive. She says that she can't imagine how much harder it might be for gay and lesbian couples trying to emigrate from non-Western nations.

Parenting

One woman talks about co-parenting. She co-parented a child with her partner, who was the child's birth mother. She says that the donor father had a very convenient name for his status, namely, 'father'. She as the non-birth parent, felt left out because of the failure of language to recognise her importance in the child's upbringing. She says that there was no word to describe her role.

Police

One man says that police used to frequently stake out beats to arrest gay men, whereas now that doesn't happen so often.

Another woman talks about how the presence of lesbian or gay police officers at police stations makes a huge difference. What follows is a general discussion about GLLOs (Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers).

One man says that the GLLO program is now being re-established and new staff are being hired. A woman talks about how the presence of GLLOs is dependent on resources. The lack of GLLOs could also be attributed to the fact that there is no real career path for those officers, nor for anti-violence officers. One man thinks there should be more promotion opportunities for GLLOs, and that police officers should be encouraged to take on GLLO positions.

Politicians' travelling entitlements

A former federal politician argues that the federal government holds a very archaic view of marriage, and that any attempt to lobby for such would be fruitless. He says we should concentrate on other aspects of equality, such as financial and workplace entitlements and benefits.

He says that he has been in a same-sex relationship for the past 40 years. He speaks about politicians' travelling entitlements, and how same-sex partners of politicians are denied the travelling entitlements granted to opposite-sex partners. He was appointed to a United Nations diplomatic position. However, because he was a politician and not a member of the diplomatic core, the government would not pay for his long-term partner to go with him.

He says that he had a first class ticket for himself, which he offered to downgrade to business so that he could take his same-sex partner. The government denied this request, and he says that various senior ministers did not support his application. He says this was despite the fact that he and his partner had been together for 30 years at the time, and they had joint bank accounts, a joint house, joint everything. He took his case to HREOC, but it was unsuccessful due to the definition of 'spouse'.

Power of attorney and living wills

One man urges the Inquiry to look at the issue of power of attorney when it comes to ill partners in same-sex relationships. He gave the example of life support, for example if a member of a same sex couple were on life support, what legal provisions are in place that could stop family members from overriding the decisions of the patient's long term partner?

Another woman talks about how a living will can be used to nominate your partner to make decisions for you in case of ill-health. She said that St Vincent's hospital is very professional and welcoming when it comes to members of same-sex couples in hospital.

Social security benefits

One participant believes that we have now come to a watershed in the community, in that everyone is now saying that this is what needs to be done. She says that lesbians in lower socioeconomic brackets are advantaged by the non-recognition of same-sex relationships. She talks specifically about lesbians who are receiving disability pensions. She, along with others in the room, is afraid that the Government might change will change social security laws without removing discrimination in other areas.

She says that social security affects gay women more than men because women on average still only earn 85% of men's salaries.

Superannuation

One woman and her partner comment that there is a real lack of clarity about superannuation entitlements, and what gay and lesbian people are entitled to when it comes to reversionary pensions and other benefits. They say that super funds, nor the government, make it clear what gay and lesbian couples have to prove to be eligible to claim their partner's funds. They say that it's not just clarity that is lacking, but also assurance - the assurance that should one member of the couple pre-decease the other, that the living member will be able to claim the pension of the other.

Workplace discrimination

One man says that recently his boss found out that he was gay. Since that time, he has been made to feel very uncomfortable at work. He says that his boss is very homophobic, but that he would not make a complaint about it given that he wants to keep working there and he really enjoys what he does.



This sentiment is echoed by a number of people in the room who have been subject to workplace harassment and exclusion because of their sexuality. They say that Wollongong is a very small place, and there aren't a lot of alternative jobs they could go to. They say that it is just not worth making official complaints. Others say that they have to be covert about their sexuality at their workplaces.

Leadership from Government

During a discussion about whether changing laws will change people's attitudes, one woman says that since Howard has been in power, people have felt safe to discriminate. She says that he has set the tone and the spirit for discrimination and homophobia to flourish.

General discrimination

Assumption of heterosexuality

One woman says that throughout her life she has been disturbed by the constant assumption of heterosexuality, with people always assuming she is a 'Mrs'. Another woman comments that people think that they are paying her respect when they call her 'Mrs', but really it is offensive to automatically assume that a woman over a certain age must be heterosexual and married. She notes that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish whether discrimination directed at her is based on homophobia or ageism. A number of people agree that it is not just laws which must be changed but traditions and social mores.

Experiences of discrimination

Another man says that discrimination won't start to disappear until there are a number of high profile court cases dealing with the issue. He compares the treatment of gays and lesbians now to non-white Australians before the Race Discrimination Act came into force. He gives the example of Indigenous Australians being refused service in bars. He argues that although the law will not change human nature, it will start the long process of acceptance.

Hospital care

One woman talks about her experiences with staff at a hospital in the area. She says that she received terrible treatment in one of the wards. She had broken her leg and was in hospital, accompanied by her partner. She says when one of the nurses realised that they were a couple she started treating her terribly, by 'throwing' her into the hospital bed very roughly, refusing to administer painkillers, and refusing to 'nurse' her. After suffering this treatment for a number of days, this woman pulled the nurse aside and said she appealed to her common humanity and asked to be nursed like the other patients. It was only then that the nurse altered her behaviour.

Tourist accommodation

One man says that he has come across many hotels, bed and breakfasts and restaurants in the Illawarra district which have refused service to same-sex couples. He works at a tourist centre and so recommends people to stay at certain hotels. One gay couple were looking to stay in the district, and so he found them a room at a hotel. However once they arrived and the owner realised they were a gay couple, he said that the hotel was full. He says that when he travels, he now looks for gay-friendly establishments.

A few other people say that they have had the experience of being booked into twin rooms even though they explicitly requested double rooms. One woman says that travel agents need educating, because many of them automatically book same-sex couples into twin rooms.

Another speaker comments here that with regards to discrimination in hotels and restaurants and in the workplace, complaints can be made to the Anti-Discrimination Board. A number of other people respond by saying that would be difficult in Wollongong, and that whether they would feel safe doing that depends on the context.