Celebrate our gains

Celebrate our gains

2008 has been nothing short of extraordinary for the advancement of same-sex equality and a big year for the GLRL.

We’ve lobbied, rallied, made speeches, written submissions and choreographed a cheerleading routine. Governments have delivered on long-overdue reforms, putting our community in the spotlight and granting much-needed legal recognition.

The state Government passed legislation recognising same-sex parents for the first time. Hundreds of families’ existence had been ignored for decades. Now over a thousand children in NSW have the benefit and security of two legally recognised parents.

Federally, discrimination against same-sex couples has been removed in all areas of the law (with the notable exception of marriage). When it comes to taxation, Medicare, superannuation and workers’ entitlements, same-sex couples will be treated as equal to heterosexual de facto couples.

These reforms are a huge step forward for legal equality and social acceptance, and will impact the everyday lives of lesbians and gay men across the country.
With the NSW Government having just announced an inquiry into same-sex adoption, it feels a little like all our gay Christmases have come at once. No doubt, there’s a lot more work to do in the future for lesbian and gay equality, but this holiday season it’s important to celebrate the gains made this year and to thank everyone who has been involved.

We’d like to thank the GLRL staff, in particular Ghassan Kassisieh, who have performed above and beyond the call of duty time and again. To all the 2008 Committee and Lobby alumni, your experience and energy have been a constant source of inspiration. To everyone who volunteered their time, wrote a letter to an MP or Senate inquiry, and helped to build our campaigns -” we couldn’t have done it without you.

Moving into 2009, we can honestly say that our community is enjoying the greatest levels of social and legal equality ever seen in Australia. This is something of which we are proud and for which we are thankful.

We wish all of you a fabulous holiday season. Take care, enjoy yourselves and we’ll see you in 2009 to continue the fight.

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9 responses to “Celebrate our gains”

  1. Kevin, I’m a single gay man living on a partial disability pension and working part time. Were I to enter into a live in relationship with another pensioner I would be put on the couples rate and yes, my payment would be reduced. But I’d also be saving money by splitting my rent and utilities bills with that partner (the reason why couples are assessed differently than singles). Yes, the changes should have been grandfathered and I hope Government decides to fix that before it’s too late, but before you throw in the towel on a 28 year relationship, do the sums and work out if you’ll really be saving money by moving into separate homes. You’ll probably end up spending more.

  2. The insinuation by some, that welfare recipients who live with another person of the same sex will suddenly face “forced financial inter-dependency via recognition of their couple status under Social Security law”, is hysterical. Centrelink is not about to unilaterally declare every cohabiting adult male in the country as one part of a gay couple.

    Commenters have also alleged certain consequences (eg “end our 28 year relationship”) as a result of the recent equality reforms. It would be enlightening (and probably more engaging for the wider community) to know whose confirmed advice (eg. Centrelink) or well informed analysis these unhappy scenarios are based upon; and exactly what that advice/analysis says.

    That aside, shame on anyone who would begrudge wide-ranging equality reforms out of spite and self-interest. Enjoy your manufactured internecine class war (“heteropatriarchy”, “beluga canapes”) and your reactionary humbug (“first they came for the jews”).

  3. I am a 70 year old angry poof. I was angry in 1978 and maintained my my rage, with many other, dykes and poofs to achieve law reform in 1984. Now I sometimes wonder why I bothered.
    Many members of what ludicrously passes for the ‘gay community’ also took part in that struggle. I say to them, the struggle ain’t over yet honey. If you thought victory came with the recent passing of same-sex legislation, think again.
    When wars are won victory is not only for the winning fighters. It is for ALL those for whom the war was fought. Unless, it seems, the war as fought by the GLRL
    I have been in a relationship with my partner for almost 28 years. I draw little comfort from the victory which the GLRL claims, because it is merely a partial victory. I am a poof with multiple disabilities and receive an Age Pension. My partner, because of his disability, can work only part-time in a very averagely paid job. Unless the Government does grandfather the changes to Social Security arrangements, for which there are multiple precedents, we are left with little choice but to end our 28 year relationship.
    Enjoy your Christmas champagne and beluga canapes.

  4. Shame on those celebrating whilst many of us are stressed to the max.
    I am about to lose my part time job due to lesbian discrimination and my part carers pension due to equality.
    Where are the headlines and campaigns about the untenable situation I and many of my friends in the 50-80 age bracket face. Where is the analysis of elevating couple relationships in a heteropatriarchy?

  5. Good on you Stephen. The GLRL have no reason to celebrate. They did not think things through at all, as many of us warned them to a long time ago. I wonder if they care at all about folks with HIV or (god forbid) those over 30. Fear not GLBTI Babyboomers are mobilising against this injustice and there are a lot of us. We can show them how to do things properly.

  6. Spot on Stephen. What is the GLRL going to do – there is a huge campaign underway which it does not seem to have noticed. Next month the Senior free newspaper is running items on the sell out of gay pensioners by those who don’t seem to care that there is one equality for the elite corporate gays and another for those of us on pensions.
    And that it’s OK to force elderly people out of the closet, or otherwise they starve?
    Try this – the definition of a same sex couple in the Act does NOT apply to social security. So a same sex couple as defined by the Feds suddenly is NOT a couple for DSS, they get to make up their own rules. Blatantly unfair and surely legally inconsistent. HOW DARE THEY. HOW DARE GLRL IGNORE US WHEN WE SPOKE UP TO THE SENATE INQUIRY?

    Do something now, put down your egg nog, stop celebrating and sort out this mess. As a long term member of glrl who does not even live in Sydney I demand that you do this.

    And BTW where is a media celebrity gay who will speak out on this, I have exhausted my list, the word coward comes to mind.
    First they came for the jews…………….

  7. The GLRL and other activists need to be congratulated on their achievements with relationship recongnition.

    However it is a great pity that they did not take more care to protect the ill and vulnerable in our community, especially older people and those with HIV.

    This ommission is a glaring indicator of where the GLRL’s interests lay – and its not with ill and vulnerable, der people and those with HIV. This is a divisive mess that could have been avoided by more comprehensive policy analysis.

    These are the first Social Security amendments in over 15 years that have not grandparented those already on a pension or benefit.

    Older gay and lesbian couples have lived and worked anticipating their relationships will not be recognised under Social Security law, and without any expectation of equality before the law generally. They have had no expectation of forced financial inter-dependency via recognition of their couple status under Social Security law. Applying Social Security means tests to people who have long been disadvantaged before the law is effectively a doubling of their experience of discrimination.

    Older people in or nearing retirement have no chance to rearrange finances. The have not have had the benefits of relationship recognition in their working life & now chnaging the rules on them in retirment is effectively a doubling of their experience of discrimination.

    So what does the GLRL intend to do about this divisive mess?