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RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN OF SAME SEX FEMALE PARENTS

Children of female de-facto couples will be given equal rights and protections under new legislation to be introduced into NSW Parliament.

The Iemma Government will adopt a NSW Law Reform Commission recommendation to extend parenting rights to a mother's de-facto lesbian partner.

Attorney General John Hatzistergos said the move would protect the rights of children in this situation who were conceived by artificial fertilisation.

"The protection of children is one of the cornerstones of our society," said Mr Hatzistergos.

"This new law will grant equal rights to children living in domestic situations where mothers are in same sex de-facto relationships."

The new law will bring NSW into line with Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory. New Zealand and Canada also have similar laws.

Currently, under the Status of Children Act 1996, only heterosexual couples who have children through artificial fertilisation have parental presumptions.

"This will give children greater protections in, for example, an emergency health situation where a parent might be required to sign consent forms," said Mr Hatzistergos.

"Female de-facto parents will have a responsibility to protect and provide for their children, just like everyone else," said Mr Hatzistergos.

He said having two parents recognized gave children equal rights to:

1. - Workers compensation and victim compensation payments where one or both parents are killed or injured.

 

2. - Inheritance of both of the parents' assets.

 

3. - Recognition of both parents by school authorities.

 

4. - Improving access to guardianship orders for elderly parents.

 

On top of the new parenting laws, the Iemma Government will reform almost 50 other laws that extend equal rights and obligations to de-facto couples.

As part of the reform process, the Iemma Government will update anti-discrimination laws to address possible discrimination based on a person's domestic status.

The new laws were recommended by the Law Reform Commission which consulted widely with stakeholders. They will be introduced to Parliament in coming months.

The laws do not address complex reforms on same sex adoption and surrogacy - which are being dealt with by ministerial councils on health, community services and attorneys general.

FACT SHEET

The NSW Law Reform Commission was asked to review the Property (Relationships) Act 1984.

The Commission's report makes 59 recommendations, relating to:

1.  
   1. • the definition of de facto and close personal relationships;

    

   2. • financial adjustment on breakdown of such relationships; and

    

   3. • jurisdictional and procedural issues relating to these.

    

The Iemma Government has accepted 21 of these.

Nine of the remaining 38 recommendations are not relevant because they relate to the fact the Howard Government refused to take up a NSW referral on property matters relating to the breakdown of same sex relationships. The report makes recommendations to allow NSW to address same sex property matters in the absence of Commonwealth legislation, but as the Rudd Government has announced it will take up the referral, the nine recommendations are no longer relevant.

Another 10 recommendations have been noted or were not regarded as relevant in light of the Iemma Government's response to other recommendations in the report.

Further consultation is taking place with regard to four recommendations.

The report recommended a registration system for domestic relationships, which include all de-facto relationships.

The Iemma Government has not accepted the recommendation in this form.

The Government believes a registration system would best include all states and territories and be run by the Commonwealth.

The Government notes that the registers in the ACT, Tasmania and Victoria differ. The Government will, however, examine the functioning of the registers.

15 recommendations have not been accepted, they relate to such things as removing the co-habitation requirement for de facto relationships and changing the name of the Property (Relationships) Act to the Relationships Act.

Parentage presumptions for same sex female couples

The report recommends that same sex female partners be granted parentage rights for children conceived through in vitro fertilisation or artificial insemination.

The Government will change the parentage presumptions for children born using fertilisation procedures such as IVF to remove discrimination against lesbians.

This will not include children in same sex couples who were conceived through sex or who have been adopted, this is because to do so would extinguish the rights of a birth parent.

Currently, when a woman uses a fertilisation procedure to conceive a child, the sperm donor is presumed not to be the father, and there is a legal presumption that the husband or de facto male partner of the woman is the father.

The Government will extend this presumption to cover the female de facto partner of the mother if a same sex relationship exists.

The question of adoption and surrogacy is more complex and is currently under consideration of the health, community services and attorneys general ministerial councils.

Extending definition of de facto to other acts

The definition of de facto in the Property (Relationships) Act already includes same sex couples.

The Government has previously extended this definition to a large range of other acts, and the Report identifies several more.

The Government has undertaken an audit and identified nearly fifty other acts where the de facto definition should also apply.

This will include Acts that confer benefits, such as:

It will also include acts that place an obligation for disclosure in relation to de facto partners, such as the Local Government Act.

Anti-Discrimination Act - ‘domestic status'

The Government will amend the ‘marital' ground of discrimination in the Anti-Discrimination Act which includes discrimination based on heterosexual married or de facto relationships only, to include discrimination arising out of a person's domestic status.

This amendment will ensure that people who are discriminated against on the basis of their domestic status, including their status as living in a same-sex relationship, in the areas of work, education, provision of goods and services, accommodation and registered clubs have rights under the Anti-Discrimination Act.

This is a recommendation made by the report and will provide an avenue for redress of unlawful discrimination which may arise as a result of disclosure of a same-sex relationship under the new disclosure requirements.

ENDS

State Plan Priority S7: Safer Roads

Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal today launched Geared Online, a major new $480,000 road safety initiative for young drivers in NSW.

“This new website, geared.com.au, is designed to give young NSW drivers improved advice on road safety and getting a driver’s licence,” Mr Roozendaal said.

“Geared is an online guide which will help young people get their licence and provide them with more information on becoming a safer and more competent driver.

“This is an important way of communicating with young people about issues which affect them like cars, driving and road safety – and using an online medium which is second nature to all young people.

“Young drivers will find information from details about road trip holidays, buying and selling a car, DIY car maintenance and safe driving.

“The site is divided into three main sections to help young drivers in making their initial automotive decisions – licensing, cars and driving.

“A quarter of all road crashes involve young drivers, even though they represent only 16 per cent of the total driver population.”

Mr Roozendaal said geared.com.au is a $480,000 Iemma Government initiative in partnership with Carsguide.com.au, NRMA Free2go, Toyota and Austereo designed to engage young drivers in current issues about cars, road safety and licensing.

As part of the website launch, young people are being encouraged to enter a video competition for the chance to win a Macbook Pro, an Adobe Creative Suite 3 software package and a Sony Handycam.

Following the theme ‘Get a Licence. Get a Life.’ young people are encouraged to enter the competition by uploading a fifteen second video illustrating how bored they would be if they didn’t have their driver’s licence. It could be anything from sitting at home watching the grass grow to looking after their little sister.

Young drivers can register at www.geared.com.au and enter their video.

The RTA launched the magazine version of Geared in 2003, which was previously available in motor registries across NSW

Premier Morris Iemma today announced that companies from across the globe would be invited to submit a bid to design, develop and build the landmark $2.5 billion Barangaroo project.

Mr Iemma said the Government would today call for Expressions of Interest for the first stage of the project, comprising four city blocks and public open space at the southern end of the site.

The first stage accounts for 83 per cent of the site's development area.

Mr Iemma also announced the design and development of the major new headland park, at the northern end of the site, would be brought forward and the government would consider a new ferry terminal hub for the site.

"Our goal is to find innovative companies to help us create one of the world's most environmentally sustainable precincts on prime waterfront land," Mr Iemma said.

"An international advertising campaign covering the New York Times, the Financial Times of London, the South China Morning Post and the Gulf News will begin in the coming weeks.

"Barangaroo is Sydney's largest urban renewal project in a generation involving $2.5 billion in construction and creating thousands of construction jobs.

"It will restore public access to a section of our foreshore for the first time in a century and bring new jobs and investment to the city."

Mr Iemma said once completed Barangaroo would provide a new extension of the CBD to accommodate Sydney's growing financial role in the Asia Pacific region, including space for around 15,000 workers.

"Demand for commercial space is continuing to grow, particularly from the financial sector," Mr Iemma said.

"Stage 1 is the first step, with the Government inviting companies to develop this important new precinct to meet that demand and attract tenants.

"Barangaroo will capitalise on the North West Metro with pedestrian links between Wynyard and the Barangaroo site.

"The Government will also consider locating a new ferry terminal hub at Barangaroo at the southern end of Stage 1.

"Should a wharf be included in the final proposal the developer will need to work closely with Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority on the plans."

Mr Iemma said design and development of the major new headland park, at the northern end of the site, would be brought forward.

"While the headland park will ultimately be funded from the proceeds of the development sites, the Government will provide forward funding to enable its earlier design and construction," Mr Iemma said.

"Importantly, the release of the southern end of the site will also allow the Government to progress the new 11-hectare headland park.

"A separate expression of interest will soon be released to find a suitable designer for the park."

Planning Minister Frank Sartor said companies interested in Barangaroo would need to deliver:

• More than 220,000 square metres of commercial space at the southern end of the site;
• A new harbour cove and public open space at the southern end of the site; and
• A benchmark sustainable precinct that achieves significant reductions in potable water and energy use by 2050.

"This landmark development will also be at the forefront in terms of design excellence and sustainability, achieving significant reductions in drinking water and energy use," Mr Sartor said.

"Some of the measures being considered to achieve these reductions include a series of centralised co-generation power plants and an on-site sewage treatment plant to supply non-potable water to the site and neighbouring precincts."

Details about the expression of interest will be available at www.barangaroo.com from midday tomorrow.

KEY FACTS

About Barangaroo:

• The creation of a new 22 hectare city precinct with 11 hectares of public parkland.
• The restoration of public access to 1.4km of harbour foreshore for the first time in more than a century.
• The completion of the Iemma Government's 14km foreshore walk from Woolloomooloo to Anzac Bridge.
• Room for the CBD to grow, including more than 220,000 square metres of state of the art office space for around 15,000 new workers.
• The generation of around $2.5 billion in construction for the State economy over 10 years, creating thousands of jobs.
• The Government held a State-wide naming competition for the area most commonly known as East Darling Harbour in 2006.
• More than 1600 entries were received and Barangaroo was chosen in honour of the indigenous woman from Sydney's early history who was a powerful figure in the story of Australia's colonisation. Barangaroo was also the wife of Bennelong - after whom the site of the Sydney Opera House is named.

About Stage 1:

• Stage 1 of Barangaroo includes four city blocks at the southern end of the site.
• These blocks account for more than 80 per cent of Barangaroo's commercial space.
• Floor plates of up to 4,000 square metres in podium and 3,000 square metres in tower can be accommodated.
• The expression of interest for Stage 1 has been released internationally and will close on June 6, 2008.
• Work is expected to commence in 2009 for completion in 2020.

The financial sector:

• Sydney is Australia's leading financial services city with 18 of the world's top 20 banks having operations in Sydney.
• Financial services is one of five key sectors targeted for growth by the Iemma Government's Statement on Innovation and Barangaroo will be a key hub.
• Global financial firms most often cite the wide variety of languages spoken by highly skilled workers as the reason for establishing operations in Sydney.
• Financial services is the fastest growing service industry in NSW.
• Sydney's financial services workforce is now nearly half the size of London's and more than 40 per cent the size of New York City's.
• In 2005-06, the finance and insurance industry in Australia contributed $66.4 billion, or 7.7 per cent of Australia's total factor income from all industries, with NSW accounting for 46.4 per cent of the industry's revenue.
• Sydney is the head office location of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Stock Exchange, the International Banks and Securities Association of Australia, and the Australian Financial Markets Association.

Acting Fair Trading Minister, Matt Brown, welcomes the announcement of a national FuelWatch scheme.

Mr Brown said the Federal Government, through the Petrol Commissioner, was best placed to operate a FuelWatch scheme in view of the international nature of the fuel market.

“It is far more efficient for this to be undertaken at a national level, rather than each state spending an enormous amount of taxpayers’ money as was recommended by the NSW Opposition,” Mr Brown said.

“Consumers will save money by not driving around in search of the cheapest fuel if the information about local petrol prices is available for motorists on the internet and via SMS.

“Petrol companies being required to lock in their prices for a 24 hour period will remove the frustration of driving past a service station in the morning to see one price and returning later that day to fill up only to find it has gone up 10 cents per litre.”

Mr Brown also acknowledged the Commonwealth's intention to review the effectiveness of service after it had been in operation for twelve months.

“Motorists are fed up with the mysteries of petrol pricing and want greater transparency and I, like all motorists, look forward to the introduction and development of this important initiative,” Mr Brown said.

"Any system that will put some pressure on retailers to be more honest with their petrol prices is going to be of great benefit to all consumers."

Acting Fair Trading Minister, Matt Brown, today announced the availability of grants to support research, education and training in the home building and property services industries.

Mr Brown said the grants aim to enhance outcomes for consumers of the home building and property services industries through raising awareness and industry standards.

The funding available for the property services grants is for a period of up to a year and three years in the case of home building," Mr Brown said.

Funding ongoing industry research and education helps to ensure that the NSW residential building and property services industries are up-to-date with the latest developments in the sector.

"Improved industry education and training means improved standards, and this benefits the entire community."

Mr Brown said approximately $900,000 in funding has been made available for improved services and increased consumer protection in the home building and property services industries.

The funding program is a clear demonstration of the Iemma Government's commitment to supporting education and training across these industries."

Application packages are available online at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au or by contacting Community & Industry Grants on 9619 8731 / 9619 8715 or grants [at] oft [dot] commerce [dot] nsw [dot] gov [dot] au.

Applications should be sent to The Manager, Community & Industry Grants Branch, Office of Fair Trading, PO Box 972, Parramatta NSW 2124.

Applications for both lots of funding close Wednesday 14 May 2008.

State Plan Priority E1: A secure and sustainable water supply for all users

The Minister for Water, Nathan Rees today officially opened the $56 million Conjola Regional Sewerage Scheme - one of the largest to be constructed in regional NSW. 

Mr Rees said the completion of this important project would benefit around 2,000 permanent residents from nine coastal villages in the Shoalhaven City Council area. 

"This scheme will not only provide sewerage services to the communities of North Bendalong, Bendalong, Manyana, Berringer Lake, Cunjurong, Conjola, Fisherman's Paradise, Killarney and Conjola Park, but also the 6,000 or more tourists who visit this coastal haven during the peak summer period," Mr Rees said. 

"The scheme will provide environmental benefits and improve public health by eliminating failing on-site sewerage systems that can contaminate local waterways." 

Mr Rees said the substantial increase in demand for sewerage services during the holidays had provided challenges in designing and constructing the essential infrastructure to cope with present, seasonal and future demand. 

"The new scheme is a very modern system that has the capacity to treat the wastewater of up to 11,000 people to a very high standard," Mr Rees said. 

"It consists of two wastewater treatment plants, gravity and pressure sewage collection systems, pumping stations and transfer mains, a treated water pipeline under the lake and a computerised management system. 

"The scheme has taken over 10 years to develop and two and a half years to construct.  It was made possible by the close partnership formed between Shoalhaven City Council and the NSW Government. 

"Almost $24 million was provided by the Iemma Government through the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program for this project, as part of our commitment to improving services for people in regional NSW. 

"Around 350 properties out of the 2,000 that are eligible have already connected to the scheme and I encourage other residents to connect as soon as possible." 

Since its inception in 1994, the NSW Government's $1.1 billion Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program has assisted more than 340 projects, directly benefiting more than one million people around the State.

Duty MLC for Bega, Penny Sharpe today announced new-generation flashing lights and electronic alert system technology will be installed at two schools in the region - Batemans Bay High School and Mogo Public School.

"This is the next stage in the Iemma Government's four-year, $46.5 million roll out of this new technology," Ms Sharpe said.

The new technology is expected to be installed by the middle of this year.

"I'm pleased that both Batemans Bay High School and Mogo Public School have been selected to receive this technology," Ms Sharpe said.

"These school zones were chosen using criteria including but not limited to, traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, pedestrian activity and crash history.

"This state-of-the-art technology has been shown to slow drivers down and will increase safety for pupils on Beach Road, Batemans Bay and along the Princes Highway at Mogo, as they make their way to or from school.

"This new technology was found to be highly visible and effective at slowing people down."

The $46.5 million program is funded by school zone speed cameras.

"School zones are there to keep our children safe. There is no excuse for speeding, especially through a school zone," Ms Sharpe said.

"If you don't speed through a school zone, you won't have a problem."

Flashing lights are just one component in improving school road safety.

A12-week evaluation of the new-generation flashing lights in the first half of 2007 found:

• Motorists slowed down an average of 7.4km/h as they entered the school zones;
• An extra 20 per cent of motorists stuck to the 40km/h school zone speed limit compared to before the lights were installed, meaning 60 per cent of motorists drove at or below the speed limit; 
• The electronic warning systems used in the trial achieved a 98.2 per cent reliability rating. The flashing lights are equipped with back-to-base monitoring.

"This technology is working and slowing down drivers in school zones," Ms Sharpe said.

Deputy Premier John Watkins today responded to Opposition claims that private bus operators were in the dark about World Youth Day.

Mr Watkins said that bus operators were very happy with their contact with the Government, and they’d said so this morning on radio station 2UE.

Since I talked to the Minister and the Ministry a few weeks ago, and that’s when that story relates to, I think that the Ministry is now working with operators.” Darryl Mellish, Executive Director, Bus and Coach Association on Steve Price Show 2UE.

Gladys needs to stop doing her research solely via the media and put in a phone call to the bus operators to find out the facts,” Mr Watkins said.

It’s ironic that the Opposition transport spokesperson is calling on the Government to improve its communications when she can’t even pick up the phone.

Gladys is apparently the last one to hear that bus operators are working very closely with the Ministry of Transport towards making this a successful, international event.

Just once the Opposition has the opportunity to get on board with what should be a fantastic event for Sydney, instead of the same tired old carping.

The Opposition Leader is behind World Youth Day, but with Barry away the troops don’t seem to be getting the message,” he said.

Sydney is Australia’s major events capital. Only recently we hosted the visits of the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II liners, the A-League Grand Final, a One day cricket match and Mardi Gras party on the same weekend.

Despite the Opposition’s negativity, Sydneysiders know we do these major events extremely well,” he said.

Mr Watkins was talking after releasing details of public transport arrangements for the World Youth Day week events.

Our public transport system will be up and running during World Youth Day,” Mr Watkins said.

It’ll be busy, but most services will run as normal and we’ll run 2 extra peaks a day to cater for up to 180,000 World Youth Day visitors,” he said.

details of the full changes will be made available over the coming weeks, and will be published on the Transport Infoline at www.131500.info.

State Plan Priority E1: A secure and sustainable water supply for all users 

 Minister for Water, Nathan Rees said today NSW is leading Australia in increasing competition and encouraging private sector involvement in water recycling. 

Mr Rees, in addressing a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) forum in Sydney, said the Iemma Government had a series of measures in place to meet the water needs of the Greater Sydney area for the next 50-years, including massive recycling. 

"The Greater Sydney area supports Australia's largest industrial, residential and environmental water recycling schemes," Mr Rees said.    

"Increasing competition in the metropolitan water market and water recycling are key actions in the Iemma Government's Metropolitan Water Plan and State Plan," Mr Rees said.

"NSW developed Australia's first legislation expressly designed to facilitate the competitive entry of the private sector into the metropolitan water industry and to encourage recycling. 

"The Government has now released for public comment the draft regulations that will support this legislation. 

The Regulation supports the implementation of the Water Industry Competition Act by licensing private companies wanting to be involved in the supply of water and sewerage services. 

"The release of draft Regulation is a key milestone that brings us closer to achieving a robust, competitive and sustainable water market in the Sydney and Hunter regions," Mr Rees said. 

In addition to setting licensing rules and exemptions, the Regulation contains provisions to protect consumers, water quality and the environment. 

Key aspects of the Regulation include:

• Ensuring new private sector entrants and the public water utilities face the same rules, where like services are provided.
• Protecting the community, through strict licensing rules to ensure that drinking water meets Australian standards, that recycled water is ‘fit for purpose' and that all services are delivered in a safe, reliable manner with minimal environmental impacts.
• Provisions to prevent retailers from inappropriately disconnecting small customers for non-payment of debt and to require the implementation of NSW Government social policies, such as pensioner rebates, to ensure every eligible customer continues to receive a rebate no matter their supplier.

Mr Rees told the CEDA forum that Greater Sydney households and businesses are already recycling more than 22 billion litres of water a year, up from 7 billion litres in 1995. 

"That's more than the total amount of water supplied to the population of Gosford annually," Mr Rees said. 

"By 2015 the Sydney area will be recycling 70 billion litres per year, representing 11 percent of Sydney's total annual water needs. By 2032, the Government is aiming for the volume of recycled water to increase to over 100 billion litres, a five-fold increase on today's levels. 

"However Government cannot reach these goals alone. All our recycling projects require a partnership between Government, business and the community to deliver." 

Mr Rees said cooperation with, and involvement of the business sector in developing projects can help Government bring new water infrastructure on stream in a timely and efficient manner. 

"Sydney Water is in final negotiations with industry to support the $100 million scheme supplying over 4 billion litres of recycled water to industrial users in the Camelia-Rosehill and Smithfield areas. 

"Similarly the Government is working with Deerubbin WaterFutures consortium in constructing the $250 million Western Sydney Replacement Flows project, saving 18 billion litres of drinking water that is currently being released each year from Warragamba Dam into the Hawkesbury Nepean River system. 

"And the Iemma Government is developing the recycled water grid that will deliver recycled water to existing industry, commerce, irrigation and residences within the highly developed areas of Sydney. 

"The first component of the Grid, the $130 million Liverpool to Ashfield pipeline, is now complete, three months ahead of schedule, and on budget. 

Other recycling projects include:

• Australia's second largest residential scheme, the $65 million Hoxton Park Recycled Water System.
• $166 million Wollongong Recycling Plant and STP upgrade ...
• $6.7 million Ropes Crossing Residential Recycling Scheme at St Mary's ...

 "The Iemma government is committed to working with industry and commercial interests in creating a viable and sustainable water recycling industry," Mr Rees said.