Benefit with no benefit....

On July 1 2009 new laws will come into place here in Australia that will recognise same-sex partners for various legal reasons. Now this isn't a same-sex marriage thing for as in on the states the Prime Minister here also believes marriage is to remain between a man and a women. However, as I said for legal reason some 100 plus laws and rules will be amended to address same-sex couples. In many cases what will happen is that same-sex couples will be recognised as a de-facto couple not unlike a heterosexual couple who are not married but claim to have an ongoing relationship. These new rules cover things like superannuation (aka retirement funds) which will now allow the partner of a deceased partner have access and be directly entitled to those funds without the need of any legal paperwork. Partners will have access to the deceased partners pension (aka social security). The same goes for things like partners rights in hospitals etc.

There is a hitch with all of these new entitlements. Since, I started looking for work at the beginning of the year the government has been giving me a fortnightly allowance to help tide me over while I look for a job. Well, with the start of new rules as of July 1 I will have to claim the next fortnight as a de-facto couple and as such the allowance will then be means tested against income and assets of both partners. That was okay when it was just me as I don't own anything but that will now change. The cutoff of allowed assets and salaries etc is $700,000.00 and since hubby will now have to declare and since we/he owns both of our homes outright (no mortgages) and if you add together the median values of the two houses we our over the limit and we haven't even added the income from renting the one house or hubby's salary or the assets inside the house, the car (also paid for) and so on. So, although we will gain some benefits I will loose some benefits. I will receive one last payment and now I'm looking for work with out the safety net. The law giveth and the law taketh away.

Pride....

A fellow blogger over at Rambling Along with a Stern Point of View runs a challenge each June correlating with Gay Pride month. Now even though I no longer live in the states I am still an American and I also believe in equality. So, from way over here in the land down under I throw my support behind Kelly and all the other people living in the US and for that matter around the world who should never have to be ashamed of who they are nor should they ever be made to feel that they are any less than any other individual. Every one should be treated equally and fairly. So this is for all of you, Kelly, my partner and myself.

We have come along way,

but still have a long way to go.

Thanks to all those who have paved the way,

Some even gave their lives...

Keep their fight alive...

We won't forget!!

What's your secret???

I read this here and I believe it originally came from here. I just wanted to share this with you because I think it is very important. Note: I did not write this but I truly understand everything that is written here and hope that others will read this and also begin to understand.

STRAIGHT PEOPLE - TRY THIS. Imagine you have a deep dark secret. It can be anything, it doesn't matter. Now imagine that if you told people this secret you would be ridiculed, hated, looked at like you are a freak. Imagine how badly you want to tell someone your secret. Imagine your fear of a persons reaction if you tell them your secret. Imagine you tell someone the secret, but it leaks out and soon everyone knows. Imagine people whispering and pointing at you as you walk down the hall. Imagine people staring at you as if your a freak, as if there is something wrong with you. Imagine people throwing their lunches at you or spitting on you as you walk across the courtyard at lunch. Imagine people taunting you with names that hurt you like a bullet. Now open your eyes. Gays go through this every day. We don’t have to imagine. For us, its reality.

I’m a bi who wishes she was straight because i’m sick of hiding, sick of the heartache and i’m tired of not knowing what will happen what friends i’ll lose next what words i’ll let slip and what questions i have to avoid answering.

I am the boy who never finished high school, because I got called a fag everyday.

I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.

I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.

I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.

We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.

I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.

I am the gay teenager who cant tell his school who he really is, because he is afraid of what they will do to him

I am the gay athlete who wants to use the locker room, but hears the ridicule of homosexuality just outside the door

I am the gay friend that only has a few people who actually care, but hardly get to see

I am the gay boy that wants to cry when he hears fag, gay, or homo in a way that makes me feel less human

I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had… I wish they could adopt me.

I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.

I’m the girl who was scoffed at by her teacher when she confided in her she might have a crush on a girl.

We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.

I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.

I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.

I am the girl who hides under lies just to feel that she belongs.

I am the girl that lost her two best friends because they were gay as well.

I am the girl that spent heart breaking nights holding her gay cousin until he cried himself to sleep.

I am the girl who lost her best friend because she found out she had a crush on her.

I am the kid whose own parents told her that she was going to hell.

I am the girl who gets in trouble with her parents for wearing a rainbow colored belt and hanging a
poster of Freddie Mercury on her wall.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.

I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.

I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didn’t have to always deal with society hating me.

I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.

I am the woman who died when the EMT’s stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.

I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didn’t have to always deal with society hating me.

I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don’t believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.

I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most… LOVE!

I am the person ashamed to tell my own friends that I am a lesbian, because they constantly make fun of them.

I am the boy tied to a fence, beaten to a bloody pulp and left to die because two straight men wanted to “teach me a lesson”

Something to think about...no?

Equality....

I have just been alerted to this website Equal Before the Law and the concept is easy.

Over 70% of Australians support the call to give same sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual de facto couples, as does every State and Territory and most of the developed world. And yet the federal politicians still sit on their hands and do nothing.

This issue is a matter of simple fairness - giving all Australians their due entitlements regardless of the nature of their relationships.

So, if you feel like you want to do the right thing or just want to lend your voice please sign the on line petition. My husband and I appreciate your support!

PS. You don't have to live in Australia to sign the petition although that does make a stronger point. We still would like to know that people around the world also support our fight.