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The Hon. PETER PRIMROSE [10.32 p.m.]: In 1999 this Parliament passed the Property Relationship Act, which amended the De Facto Relationship Act and its title. That was important in New South Wales because, as members will be aware, under the Australian Constitution the responsibility for issues relating to marriage, as per the Marriage Act 1961 and the Family Law Act 1975, is specifically attributed to the Federal Parliament. However, as the Constitution is silent on issues relating to de facto relationships, those matters are devolved to the States. In 1999, under the Property Relationship Act, and subsequently under the miscellaneous relationships legislation in 2002, this Parliament made de facto relationships gender neutral. That allowed couples in same-sex relationships to have access to a range of services that until that time only those in male and female de facto relationships had be able to access.
Recently we have been bombarded by a range of television and radio advertisements regarding the amendments to Medicare. Every family throughout the Commonwealth now must register for the Medicare safety net. I am sure most people are not aware of that requirement. On behalf of my family I downloaded from the Internet a copy of the Medicare safety net family registration form. Regarding spouse details the document states:
Medicare Safety Net recognises a spouse as being a person legally married and not separated, or a man and a woman in a de facto relationship.
I am aware that there have been cases about this, so I am not arguing the matter as a legal issue but, rather, from an ethical and practical perspective. The Federal Government, which constitutionally has responsibility for marriage, has now taken upon itself to say that same-sex couples who live in what are legally recognised de facto relationships in New South Wales cannot register as a family under the Medicare safety net family registration. That significantly affects the access of same-sex couples to the resources of Medicare.
I call upon the Federal Government to look at this matter carefully and to reconsider. I am not objecting to the constitutional responsibility of the Federal Parliament to define marriage. That is a debate we will have in the near future. However, in relation to de facto relationships, which have been defined legally in New South Wales by this Parliament, people expect to have rights and responsibilities pursuant to New South Wales law. I believe they are entitled to have their relationships defined as legitimate de facto relationships. I simply call upon the Federal Government to reconsider excluding that class of person from registering under the Medicare safety net.
The other matter I would briefly allude to is our famous "Legislation Review Digest", which I have referred to a number of times. I draw the attention of members not only to the various matters relating to legislation and regulations that appear in digest no. 9, but also to the correspondence that appears in it. The committee sought advice from the Premier relating to people from non-English-speaking backgrounds having access to regulations published in languages other than English. The committee was pleased to receive from the Acting Premier, Andrew Refshauge, a comprehensive two-page response on what I believe, having spoken on this matter a number of times in this House, to be an important issue. I will return to this matter in the near future when I have the opportunity to do so.