Equality Act to wait for election

A Senate committee has recommended an inquiry for a federal equality act that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity with new enforcement powers.
But the inquiry wouldn’t report until 2011 -” after the next federal election -” and the move has already been opposed by the Opposition.
This comes as complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission about homophobia in the media or commercial services are being turned away because federal protections don’t go that far.
Andrew James was turned away after no federal regulatory authority was prepared to consider a sexuality discrimination complaint unless he was sacked -” a requirement not attached to discrimination based on race, sex, age or disability.
-œAt present, you have more chance of receiving [the Commission’s] help if you’ve been discriminated against because you’re married, than you do if you’re gay. Has anyone stopped to think about just how absurd that is? Equality means everyone, you don’t get to pick and choose which minority groups are worthy of protection and which are not, he said.
-œTo put sexual preference in the same category as criminal history, religious and union affiliation is the Government’s way of saying, -˜Being homosexual is within your control and therefore we will only protect you if you get fired from your job -” for anything else, you’re on your own’.
Under the proposal for 2011, a new complaints system and enforcement powers would be given to the Commission.
The senate committee examining the effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act also recommended it be amended to protect same-sex couples from discrimination on the basis of their relationship status.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who sat on the committee, thought the recommendations didn’t go far enough, saying the marital status definitions should include registered relationships legally recognised by states and territories. She also wanted sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination tackled via a new dedicated federal law addressing gaps in state and territory laws.
The Liberals opposed an Equality Act, declaring -œthe lack of any compelling evidence of deficiencies in the existing legislative scheme (particularly in light of additional protection available under state and territory legislation), there is no evidentiary basis for this recommendation.