Subject: Family benefits for "queer" families: a test case.
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 1994 17:42:56 +1000
From: Erik van Keulen <erik@cs.uq.oz.au>

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hallo all!

I'm writing on behalf of the (Australian) National Council for
Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Here in Australia, we're lodging a test claim made possible
by recent changes to the Industrial Relations Act. The changes
might make it possible for family and partnership benefits
available through work, to be extended to same-gender partners
and other people that lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and
transgenderists think of as "family".

Our list of extensions to the concept of "family", in increasing
level of audacity, includes:

  - making "marriage" available to same-gender couples
  - recognising de facto (cohabiting) couples, whatever
    gender-mix
  - recognising significant non-cohabiting relationships
    (not yet available even for heterosexual couples)
  - recognising "carer responsibility" for purposes of leave
    for the children of any of the above, whether or not
    both partners have custody of those children
    (If your same-gender partner has a child, you're not likely
     to have custody over that child but you might need a day
     off work to care for the child.)

This is more general than domestic partner benefits, since
we'd like non-cohabiting significant relationships to be
recognised too, whatever the gender-mix.

To make the claim, we've referred as thoroughly as we could
to the Partnership Registration Laws of Denmark, Norway and
Sweden, and to the policies of companies like Apple Computer,
Lotus, and so on.

The courts making a decision on this case are open to previous
examples, whether in other countries or under the different state
legislation within Australia.

We're still trying to get documentation we can include in our
submission. Notably, copies of the Scandinavian legislation
and copies of company policies that extend partnership benefits
to same-gender couples. I have all the documents one might find
on the QRD (that great resource!), but we still need documentation
of existing policies...

We need this urgently! (Sorry...)
We have some funds available; we could pay for _some_ express postage
or faxing, if we can get the money to you. (I guess mailing cheques!)
Of course, e-mail is the most convenient for us...

I hope some of you can help!

Contact information is:

  Erik van KEULEN
  S.V.R.C.,
  Department of Computer Science
  University of Queensland
  Queensland, 4072
  AUSTRALIA

  fax: +61 7 365 1533

Thanks for your time!
________________________________________erik@cs.uq.oz.au_______
Life is a Holiday in the same way that glass is a liquid   \  /
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