GAY AGENDA:Howard to have final ruling on same-sex rights

JOHN Howard has been charged by his cabinet colleagues with deciding whether same-sex couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples after a divisive cabinet debate. Following a heated discussion in Cabinet on Monday, the Prime Minister decided to make the final ruling on whether gays and lesbians would be given equal rights under commonwealth law. The meeting was split, with conservative ministers arguing it was not a high priority for the Government and that they had been inundated by opposition to major reform.
"Concerned about expense"
Ministers were also concerned at the expense of reforms, which would cost taxpayers millions of dollars in extra social security payments. But Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Employment Minister Joe Hockey, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson and the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, supported the reforms. Mr Turnbull and Mr Hockey are understood to have argued that with high numbers of gay voters in their electorates, reform could not be put off.
Abbott, Andrew against
Health Minister Tony Abbott and Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews both argued against the reforms, saying they were not a political priority for the Government ahead of the election. A group of moderate federal Liberal MPs - including Queenslanders Warren Entsch and Peter Lindsay and Victorian Greg Hunt - have for the past two years been conducting a strident campaign among colleagues for legal changes to end discrimination against gay couples in key areas.
Package elements
Major elements of the package include equal access to the Medicare safety net and the couples' rate threshold for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Under current laws, married or de facto heterosexual couples without children qualify for the 80 per cent rebate under the Medicare safety net after reaching $716 in out-of-pocket expenses between them. But same-sex partners are not considered a couple, which means their expenses have to be double before they qualify for the safety net. Discrimination in migration law, social security and tax could also form part of the reform plan, including the superannuation contribution rebate. The unequal treatment of gays was recently highlighted by High Court judge Michael Kirby, who wrote to Mr Ruddock to say his partner of 38 years, Johan van Vloten, would have no access to Justice Kirby's pension if the judge died before him. Under current law, if a retired judge in a heterosexual relationship dies, their partner is entitled to 62.5 per cent of the judge's pension.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22292944-2,00.html
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