Democrats to support Govt despite same-sex veto

TheAustralian Democrats will continue their support for legislation supporting superannuation co-contributions for low-income earners when it returns to the Senate, despite the Government having used its numbers in the House of Representatives last week to veto associated amendments aimed at removing discrimination against same-sex couples.

A senior Australian Democrats adviser has indicated that while the Party is disappointed by the Government’s veto of the same-sex amendments, this will not alter the Democrats’ support of the co-contributions legislation when it returns to the Senate.

The House of Representatives considered the legislative amendments with the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Ross Cameron, saying if the Senate insisted on the amendments, the Government would need to reconsider its support of the co-contributions legislation.

The Democrats had sought to persuade the Government to support the same-sex amendments in the House of Representatives by bundling them with “other inter-dependent relationships” such as the ability of a child to pass superannuation to a parent.

The Democrats spokesman on superannuation, Senator John Cherry, had called on the Government to give favourable consideration to the merit of the amendments.

According to Cherry, the Senate’s support for the amendments to recognise ‘inter-dependent’ relationships would allow other domestic relationships such as sisters living together or children leaving their super to parents to be recognised in Federal law.

“It is amazing that a child is able to receive their parents’ superannuation, tax-free, upon death, but a parent cannot receive super from their child if they die,” Cherry says.