Relationships bill is reported back

The Justice and Electoral Select Committee has reported back on the Relationships (Statutory References) bill. The committee had two concerns: How to legally treat short-term de facto relationships, and how to distance de facto relationships from marriage and civil unions. Most submitters to the select committee objected to unmarried partners - especially those in a same sex relationship - being referred to as a spouse. Also, civil unions are seen as requiring a lesser standard of commitment than marriage

Ads a result, an unmarried partner will not be called a spouse, even though if they are in a civil union they will have the same legal rights as married couples. A de facto couple is defined as "a relationship in the nature of a marriage or civil union".

Tim Barnett, in his media release noted that people in de facto relationships do not have equal rights. "Their relationship is always open to challenge, whereas a marriage or a civil union is not."

So why didn’t he say that last year? I`ll tell you - it's a back-down by his select committee. The select committee has now decided that de facto relationships are different now that civil unions are here - as if civil unions makes other unmarried relationships different. What the Government is now saying is that civil union couples with (or without) kids are no different to married couples.

What is more concerning is that the Government is also saying that opposite sex de facto couples are less equivalent to married couples than same sex couples.

I wold have thought that opposite sex de facto couples were more equivalent to married couples than same sex couples are purely because both couples consist of a man and a woman - and they can have kids. That's a separate issue as to whether they should be given legal equivalence, though.

But of course, if any de facto couple gets a civil union , then bingo! they are equivalent. It just puts de facto couples in legal limbo.

As a result of the report, the Property (Relationships ) Act has to be revisited as it treats all married, same sex and de facto couples the same as long as they have been together for three years or have children..

In future, couples under the age of 18 will not legally be called de facto couples - unless consent is given by Big People. What will these couples be called? Probably "close personal relationships"- but the Law Commission will be looking into that, and a few other issues.