Page 3493 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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support for marriage equality. I look forward to continuing to work with these organisations, their leaders and members and many members of the public to campaign for marriage equality not just in our own community but across Australia. Denying marriage equality is an affront to human rights and says to these loving couples that you are not allowed to express or formalise your love in the same way as other couples in our society.
I am calling on members of the Assembly to join with me today to call on the commonwealth to remove the discrimination that exists in the definition of “marriage” in the commonwealth Marriage Act. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.57): I rise today to speak to this motion. There are two substantive issues for debate here today. One is this Assembly’s support for the LGBTIQ community, and the other is that of same-sex marriage. I would like to take them in those two parts.
Turning firstly to the issue of our support for the LGBTIQ community, I would like to hope that, similar to the expressions that we had today from this Assembly about multiculturalism, there would be a unanimous view amongst everybody in support of all people in our community, whichever political persuasion, whatever gender, that the leadership of their city supports them and embraces their diversity. Certainly in that respect, we will be supporting the elements of the motion in, principally, 2(b) and (c) that call on those elements. There is bipartisan support for that.
I was at an AIDS Action Council meeting and Mr Smyth, my colleague here, was not there that night—were you there? I cannot quite remember. You were there. They made him a fabulous member for the support that he has shown to that community. Certainly in my maiden speech I made the point very strongly about support for the gay and lesbian community and furthering rights for that community. In my view we have done so.
Indeed Ms Berry talked about some legislation that was passed earlier this year with particular relation to trans-sexual and intersex people and change to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, which we supported. I will read out a nice message that I got from a leader in that community after that legislation was passed:
Hi Jeremy,
Just wanted to let you know how very pleased I was that the ACT Liberals supported the changes to the BDMR Act—
the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act—
last week. The comments you made in your speech were insightful and showed a genuine engagement with the substantive issues. I would be keen to stay in touch about monitoring the implementation of the changes and also about any other issues related to the trans and intersex community.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss anything or run stuff past me either in an official capacity or in an informal confidential basis. On a
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