Carpenter, McGinty urged on de factos register

Carpenter, McGinty urged on de factos register

Victoria to join Tasmania and ACT in de facto couple laws

24 April 2007

Western Australia's peak gay and lesbian lobby group has again called on Premier Alan Carpenter to follow the lead of other states and territories, through laws to create a registration scheme for de facto couples in WA. 

Gay and Lesbian Equality has repeated its call for law reforms in the wake of the announcement by Premier Steve Bracks' of a registration scheme in Victoria.  A comprehensive  scheme already exist in Tasmania, while the ACT Government continues to attempt to legislate in the area. 

GALE Convenor Rod Swift said the actions of other states clearly indicated that new benchmarks were being set in the area of de facto couple legislation which WA should follow.

"It is clear that the benchmarks for recognising and protecting de facto couples is changing and Western Australia should be adopting these standards," Mr Swift said. 

"A registration scheme would protect the rights of de facto couples by issuing them with a certificate that proves without any shadow of a doubt their relationship exists."

"Mr Carpenter and Attorney-General Jim McGinty need to adopt Australia's best practice on de facto couples and make a commitment now to a registration scheme for couples who wish to declare and protect their de facto relationship." 

Mr Swift also said that a registration and certificate scheme would especially benefit de facto couples during the early stages of their relationship.

"A certificate would allow new couples to demonstrate their relationship exists, especially in an emergency situation," Mr Swift said. 

"It is far more preferable for the couple to have a certificate proving a relationship than to have a hospital having a guess at interpreting who is the next of kin of a person."

Mr Swift also called for multi-partisan support for reforms of WA's de facto couples legislation. 

"This simple law change merely provides certainty for all de facto couples in WA.  There is no reason why the Liberal Party or other parties could find fault in such a reform," Mr Swift said.

"The Greens have a long-standing policy on supporting such moves, while the National Party's last state conference supported de facto couples having access to registered civil unions." 

MEDIA COMMENT:

Rod Swift            GALE Convenor            0417 890 111

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