Legislative Council Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Bills Relationships Register (No 1) Bill Relationships Register (No 1) Bill Relationships Register (No 1) Bill Second Reading Second Reading Adjourned debate on second reading. (Continued from 29 November 2016.) The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council 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.