Relationships Register Bill a good step forward
Last night the NSW State Parliament passed the Relationships Register Bill 2010, bringing NSW into line with similar legislation in Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT, and catching up with the public’s acceptance that people's love and intimacy can be expressed in a variety of ways.
Some people think that because it is the twenty-first century it has all been worked out, we all have equality. But this is not the case. The fact that some people who are in love are denied a legal right to marry has become a driving force for a passionate movement. At the many rallies I have attended in support of marriage equality, I have been struck by the passion of the people. The rallies are dominated by young people in their twenties and they are not only gay and lesbian couples.
The NSW parliament yesterday passed the Relationships
Register Bill 2010. This
bill recognises that people in NSW choose to enter diverse forms of
relationships. Unmarried couples, whether in heterosexual or same sex
relationships, will be able to register their relationships, receive a
certificate of registration, and know that their relationship is respected and
recognised in NSW. The register provides an option for such couples to express
their commitment to each other in a dignified and legally recognised way.
The bill is modelled on existing legislation in Tasmania, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory and is a sign that the NSW parliament is catching up with the public’s acceptance that people's love and intimacy can be expressed in a variety of ways. Tolerance and respect have become the hallmark of how so many people live their lives and interact with each other.
The result of a Galaxy Poll conducted last year was that 60 per cent of Australians support marriage equality, and so it’s understandable that Labor is coming under increasing criticism for its failure to legislate for marriage equality. Months out from federal and state elections Labor is working hard to manage community disquiet over their failure to back marriage equality. The way that Labor has handled this bill has strengthened that view.
This perception could have easily have been laid to rest if this bill had been used by NSW Labor as a means to call on its federal counterparts to do the job properly and to change the federal law to grant marriage equality. That could have been so easily done.
The passing of the Relationships Register Bill last night is a positive step forward. The debate, which I encourage you to read in full, contained impassioned contributions from my fellow Greens MPs John Kaye, Ian Cohen and Sylvia Hall, and also Labor MP Penny Sharpe and Liberal MP Don Harwin. When the house divided on the Bill, there were 32 Ayes, 5 noes, with a few absentees, including Labor conservative Greg Donnelly.
You can read the full transcript of my speech to the Bill here, and I encourage you to visit the site of Australian Marriage Equality, learn more about the issue and support their campaign.
