Wednesday, 22 June, 2004

Minister admits Civil Unions Bill delivers nothing

United Future leader Peter Dunne today forced the Government to effectively admit that the Civil Unions Bill would do nothing to address legal anomalies faced by de facto and same-sex couples.

Challenging Associate Justice Minister David Benson-Pope in Parliament, Mr Dunne's questioning had the Minister admit that the Bill - contrary to the disinformation that surrounds it - does nothing to address anomalies such as next-of-kin status, taxation and benefit eligibility.

"And that is some admission given the campaign of myths that the Bill's proponents have developed," Mr Dunne said.

"Let's just deal with the facts: the Civil Unions Bill achieves not a single thing in legal terms, other than creating a back-door form of marriage that devalues the real thing," he said.

"The Bill's tandem legislation, the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill, is where these matters - and they are important matters - are addressed. And in the end that is what Mr Benson-Pope had to admit."

ENDS

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