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Adam Bub
Organisations are being urged to grant full recognition to the same-sex marriages of their employees and customers.
Australian Marriage Equality (AME) began contacting businesses in January, inviting employers to publicly affirm their support.
The list of organisations currently includes the Commonwealth Bank, IBM, Air Canada, Qantas, Seek Limited, and Wood and Stone Pizza Restaurants. Others will be added to AME’s website: www.australianmarriageequality.com/employers.htm
AME national secretary Alex Greenwich told SX the response has been favourable.
“No one has said no yet. There are a lot of organisations who have agreed in principle with us, but they’re still getting back to us. In Australia, many companies also have an existing policy – as is the case with Qantas and Air Canada. This is a good opportunity to highlight that.”
Greenwich said supporting GLBT marriage rights, rather than just recognising de facto or domestic partnerships, sends out an affirmative message about the employer’s dedication to equal opportunity and diversity in the workplace.
“As a member of the GLBT community, I’d like to know that the people I spend my money with support me,” he said.
AME hope that this initiative will pre-empt the Australian federal and state governments to follow suit. “If high-level decision makers and large organisations are prepared to recognise it, the government should see this as a form of encouragement for them to recognise it."
Employers cannot be prevented from recognising same-sex marriages, even after the 2004 amendment of the Marriage Act 1961. Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, claimed in 2006, “there is nothing to stop a private employer permitting your husband to be described as your spouse on its documentation.”
Greenwich said corporations cannot afford to discriminate, because of both anti-discrimination laws and the skills shortage in Australia.
“Companies are willing to attract employees from overseas. If those employees are in a same-sex marriage overseas, they’re going to want that recognition in their new role,” Greenwich said. "It’s seen as a drawcard for these organisations.”
According to Greenwich, religious organisations will not be contacted. “We’re not seeking any church’s support for same-sex marriage – we’re seeking the government’s support for it. Same-sex marriage is outside religion. Most marriages these days are not done in a religious context.
"If you’re a member of a religion which doesn’t support it, that’s one thing. But to be a taxpayer in a country which doesn’t support it is quite another thing, when there is a precedent that’s been set.”
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the American state of Massachusetts.
You can read about Simon & Jonathan's ceremony, plus similar stories, here.
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