Page 1117 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 April 1994
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The Bill provides that, where a person has lived in a domestic relationship for two years, that person may apply to the Magistrates Court or Supreme Court for adjustment of property rights in relation to property which is in the possession of the other person on the basis of the applicant's contribution to that property. A domestic relationship includes not only those who live in traditional de facto relationships but also relationships where one party at least provides a personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic nature for the material benefit of the other. Whether there is or has been a sexual relationship between the parties is thus an irrelevant consideration. The common factor for applicants will be their contribution to financial resources of another, and that alone. A person who fulfils the stipulated requirements is eligible to apply for a remedy.
As Mr Humphries pointed out in the debate on the discussion paper in this Assembly on 12 October last year:
It is one thing to be judgmental about some of the relationships and the lifestyles we are talking about here; it is quite another to say that people who adopt those lifestyles deserve no protection from the law.
He went on to say that, although he believed that not all relationships would generate the same rights, we should give such people certainty. This is not indicating that the fount of all wisdom is the Liberal Party, but he went on:
We should be able to find a medium which gives people in those particular relationships some chance of knowing where they stand under the law of this Territory, and that is a very important goal ...
On this point, we are in full agreement with the view from the other side, and I am glad to see that those entering the debate, both here and in the community, have so far recognised that we are talking about a particular need based on equity, one which may be common to those who live in different sorts of domestic relationships. If we do not provide a remedy for all who are faced with the same need, we are denying a group of people access to that remedy on irrelevant considerations.
The contribution may be direct or indirect, financial or non-financial, and the Bill specifically includes consideration of contributions which have conserved or improved property or financial resources, as well as through home-making and care of the other person or the care of a child of the relationship. The law would require the applicant to demonstrate a real personal commitment of a domestic nature to the welfare of the other person.
Orders under this legislation would be made by a court only where the relationship has existed for at least two years, unless special circumstances exist. The two-year threshold can be disregarded where there is a child of the relationship. It can also be disregarded where the court considers that there would be serious injustice either because the applicant has not been adequately compensated for his or her contributions or because he or she has the care and control of the other person's child.
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