New push from Rainbow Labor

Rainbow Labor hopes to make GLBT rights an issue for discussion at the NSW Labor Party’s annual conference this weekend.

The conference at the Sydney Entertainment Centre will bring together the rank-and-file membership of the party and its elected representatives at both state and federal levels.

The event will see the revising of the NSW Labor platform, and NSW Rainbow Labor convenor Angus McFarland hopes to see a commitment to end the ban on gay couples adopting in NSW.

“At a state level, adoption eligibility remains an obvious point of discrimination”, McFarland said.

“NSW Rainbow Labor supports the recommendations of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into adoption released earlier this year. We are urging the state Government to support the recommendations and are awaiting their response in the next few months.”

On a federal level, Rainbow Labor hopes to put the case for formal recognition of same-sex relationships.

“Rainbow Labor argued strongly in the lead-up to the national ALP conference, and will continue to argue for formal relationship recognition at a federal level, such as marriage,” McFarland said.

“We hope from these discussions that the conference will continue to support equality for the LGBT community and look at ways of promoting and encouraging diversity amongst the rank-and-file membership of the party”.

The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby is also hoping to see changes at the conference.

“The GLRL would like to see the NSW Labor Party support adoption equality for same-sex couples,” GLRL co-convenor Kellie McDonald told Sydney Star Observer.

“It is important the ALP recommend the swift removal of discrimination found in NSW adoption law, as same-sex couples and, more importantly, their children are still being unfairly discriminated against.

“It’s high time the Government acted on the recommendations made in the recent Same-Sex Adoption Inquiry and remove the last piece of direct discrimination against same-sex couples and their children in NSW law.”

McDonald identified two other areas for change.

“The GLRL would also like to see the NSW ALP support surrogacy law reform and civil marriage equality.”