LIBERAL PLAN TO DELAY SAME SEX COUPLE LEGISLATION “MONUMENTAL HYPOCRISY”
Reports that the Liberal Opposition may delay the start of new laws removing discrimination against same sex couples by referring them to a Senate Committee have been condemned by the Democrats as monumental hypocrisy.
Queensland Senator Andrew Bartlett said "in August last year, the Liberals used their Senate numbers to block my efforts to refer Democrat legislation on this topic to a Senate Committee, using the excuse that the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission "had already investigated this."
"It would be disgraceful hypocrisy – even by the Coalition's (double) standards – for them to now suggest that the government's legislation, which does the same thing as the Democrats' Bill, needs to be delayed by sending it to a Senate Committee.
The Labor government's laws are due to start on 1 July, and any effort to delay them further would show the words of Brendan Nelson and other Liberals supporting the removal of discrimination to be totally hollow.
"While the Democrats were able to use our balance of power in the Senate to force the previous government to remove discrimination against same sex couples in a few areas, the Liberal government thwarted repeated attempts by the Democrats over more than a decade to remove the many other areas of inequality."
"As the HREOC inquiry showed, many Australian families suffer major injustices and hurt because of discriminatory laws. Reform has been thwarted for far too long because of intransigence and stonewalling under the Howard government"
"The many Australians in same sex relationships have suffered far too much for far too long. They should not have to wait any longer."
The Labor government's legislation is due to be debated in the House of Representatives today and in the Senate later this month.
