Relationships Register (No 1) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 29 November 2016.)

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (11:35): I rise today to make a very brief contribution to support this bill. The bill allows unmarried couples, including unmarried same-sex couples, as well as same-sex couples who married overseas, to have their relationships legally recognised in South Australia.

The importance of this bill cannot be understated, because without the ability to register a relationship, same-sex couples, in particular, remain subject to a raft of legal and other social problems and uncertainties, which have been well documented, and it is often at a time in their lives when they are the most vulnerable. It was some of these very stories, which were documented through the social development inquiry which I chaired a number of years ago, that prompted this parliament to amend over 100 laws which discriminated against same-sex couples.

The registration process will also provide a simple alternative for de facto different sex partners who do not wish to marry, but who want more certainty than the law currently provides for their relationship. I congratulate those in the community and members of this parliament who have campaigned for this important move in eliminating discrimination. I commend the bill to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.