Petition pressures Liberals some more

Community advocacy group GetUp has produced a petition signed by 48,000 people calling for same-sex couples to receive the same treatment as de facto heterosexual couples.

The petition was handed over to Shadow Federal Attorney-General George Brandis last week before debate over a bill that would go some way to removing legal discrimination against same-sex couples was to be debated by the Senate.

The petition was part of GetUp’s Equal Love -” Equal Rights campaign, launched last year to coincide with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s report into same-sex entitlements.

Gay and lesbian groups are hailing the success of the first round of legislation which will allow same-sex couples access to the family court in the same way as heterosexual couples when relationships break down.

A series of amendments to the bill have been made, meaning it must now return to the House of Representatives for approval before a final Senate vote expected in November.

Last year a GetUp nationwide poll claimed over 70 percent of Australians want same-sex couples to have the same legal rights as de facto couples.

We conducted a poll showing that this issue really is in line with the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Australians, we know that over 70 percent of Australians agree with this, and, really, political change is about catching up to that kind of social change, GetUp campaign spokesman Ed Cooper told Sydney Star Observer.

Cooper hit out at the Coalition for delays in the legislation and said elements in the Liberal party who don’t support the legislation are refusing gay couples their legal rights.

As far as I’m concerned you’re either for the discrimination or against it and all this -˜in principle support’ really isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, he said.

We are talking about taxpaying Australians who are entitled to the same benefits as other taxpaying Australians … and the single reason they’re not getting the benefits is their sexual orientation and that’s blatantly discrimination that’s not in line with the principles of most Australians.