Page 824 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 21 March 2017
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A speech in the Legislative Assembly is one thing, but I have always thought the personal was a far better way to communicate, so I would like to extend a personal invitation to the Forrest Residents Group to come and spend some time in Gungahlin to experience everything the area has to offer. I will give you the tour and even shout you a coffee on Hibberson Street. I will be in touch tomorrow morning because I am quite genuine about this. I hope to share this experience with you. I hope to hear from you soon.
Marriage equality
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee) (4.41): On 27 February I had the privilege of attending a discussion forum in Phillip, organised by Forum Australia, on the topic of “life after marriage equality”. By framing the discussion in a post marriage equality world, it was a great opportunity for all in attendance to grapple with the potential outcomes of such a change, although it is a change we have been familiar with, for just a short period, here in the ACT.
The event afforded me the opportunity to expand on some of the positive effects of same-sex marriage in greater detail. The first outcome of changing the law is that people from the LGBTIQ community will be recognised simply as people: people under the law, people who have the legal right to marry. And in the future more people will be married; they will not have to go overseas to have their marriage recognised. Most people will hear about the change and life will go on.
There will not be a threat to democracy, as one federal coalition member recently proclaimed. The underpinnings of the family institution will not be undone. There will not be a lost generation of children or more people divorcing. After all, a study of every US state between 1989 and 2009 found that marriage equality did not translate into fewer heterosexual marriages.
On the other hand, the benefits of marriage are fairly well documented. Even Kevin Andrews, a former minister in the commonwealth government, has cited studies showing the greater propensity for married people to volunteer, vote and survive cancer as a justification for the continued importance of marriage. It is hard to believe that Mr Andrews opposes marriage equality when it could be equally expected that these same benefits could flow on to those in the LGBTIQ community. Why wouldn’t we want all people to have these benefits?
We all benefit from an inclusive society. When we have greater inclusion of people, we see better outcomes across a range of areas, whether it is health, education or welfare. A recent Australian study supports the proposition that marriage equality is related to improved health outcomes, and these are outcomes that we all pay for through our universal healthcare system.
I also touched on the fact that marriage equality will not necessarily spell the end of discrimination against members of the LGBTIQ communities in Australia. We need to continue to tackle discrimination in all forms in our community. For advocates there is still a long way to go to reach rural communities, new immigrants or part of
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