Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) — I am pleased to make a brief contribution to the Relationships Amendment Bill 2015, which is another step in Labor’s commitment to equality, particularly for our LGBTI community. As we have heard today already, the bill does two things. Firstly, the bill provides that in order to register a domestic or caring relationship in Victoria, only one partner in the relationship needs to live in Victoria. Secondly, the bill provides for recognition of certain relationships formalised under Australian and international laws as if they were registered domestic relationships in Victoria. This will make it easier for couples to access their rights under Victorian law — for example, when discussing a partner’s health information with a doctor in an emergency or when seeking compensation entitlements as a dependent partner.

These changes are really important, as they both rectify shortcomings in the current relationships registration regime and extend the regime to others where it is just and sensible to do so. To appreciate the importance of this extension it is also helpful to review the history of the Relationships Act 2008 and the associated efforts to recognise in particular same-sex relationships, because this demonstrates the intent of the regime and the rights and protections that it provides.

We have heard a lot today from other members about this history, and I thank the member for Brighton for taking that history back a little bit further than my research did. A lot of this history does stem from the 1998 report by the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission titled Same Sex Relationships and the Law. That report found that people in same-sex relationships often experienced differential treatment in social, legal and economic circumstances. It also found that the non-recognition of same-sex relationships was a significant cause of indirect discrimination in terms of property rights, rights upon the death of a partner and access to employment benefits. The report recommended ending discrimination against same-sex couples, but that required a general scheme to recognise all couples irrespective of gender, which was to be achieved through legislative definition reforms and a registration scheme which would provide proof of the existence of the couple’s relationship for the purposes of Victorian law.

Labor’s election commitment in 1999 was to implement the recommendations of that report, and in 2001 the Bracks Labor government delivered on the general recognition scheme with the amendment, as we have heard, of almost 60 statutes to recognise the rights and obligations of partners in domestic relationships irrespective of the gender of the partners in that relationship. The second component in ending this discrimination came about in 2008 with the Brumby Labor government passing the Relationships Act.

As we have heard from other members today, that act established the relationships register for domestic partners who are in a committed relationship. It provided these couples with easier access to existing entitlements without having to provide evidence that they were in a committed partnership or to prove this in court. It also dealt with financial and property matters in the event of a relationship breakdown. This approach in the 2008 act was based on the Tasmanian regime, which was adopted in 2003 and was the first relationships recognition scheme in Australia.

I was living in Tasmania at the time, and this was a very significant event. It followed the decriminalisation of homosexuality in that state, which was a long, hard fight that many had participated in over a very long time. It was extremely significant when this legislation came before the Tasmanian Parliament.

In noting that, I want to share the words of the then Attorney-General of Tasmania, Judy Jackson, when she introduced the Tasmanian Relationships Bill 2003 in June 2003. She said:

Far from being the demise of the family and the end of the world as we know it, what we are seeing is a change in the make-up of the family. The family remains the cornerstone of our society, just as it always has, but today it looks different from the way it did in the 1950s. As a society we are a lot more accepting of the diversity of these relationships. We have come a long way since divorce or a child born outside marriage brought shame and dishonour to families, and I for one am glad of that change.

We have reached a point in our history where, as a government and as a community, we have a choice to make. We can either hide behind the white picket fence and hang on to a 1950s picture of the world, or we can open the gate and take a look up the street to see what is really going on. In this context, government has a responsibility to recognise the relationship choices that are being made, and to support people to cope with the changes in their lives. One way to do this is by changing the law to accord these relationships with the full legal recognition they deserve.

The Tasmanian response provided this legal recognition, and the Victorian response did likewise. What we have seen over the past 15 years or so is an ongoing effort to remove discrimination on the basis of sexuality to recognise relationships regardless of the gender of the partners of that relationship. This bill extends the protections, obligations and recognition afforded in statute law reform and in the Relationships Act 2008. It also affirms Labor’s commitment to providing a safe and fair Victorian society which recognises and respects the LGBTI community and which stands up for human rights, confronts discrimination and respects diversity. It is also important that we continue to address inequality and discrimination and that we recognise same-sex relationships and those who are partners in them as the same as any other loving relationship between two adults. This bill extends that recognition, and for that I am proud, but I also accept that, despite this, there is still an obvious inequity for same-sex relationships that will remain until same-sex marriage is legalised, and this is long overdue.

The world did not end in 2003 with the introduction of the Tasmanian relationships register. It did not end in 2008 with the introduction of the Victorian relationships register. It has not ended following the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in the many jurisdictions worldwide where same-sex couples can and do now marry, and the world will not end when equality and common sense finally prevail in Australia and the right to marry is extended to same-sex couples. I look forward to that day, and I commend the bill to the house.