Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker | Parenting

PROFESSOR KERRYN PHELPS AND JACKIE STRICKER

Over the last twenty-five years, Professor Kerryn Phelps has informed the Australian public on general practice, public health, medical politics and human rights issues. She's Adjunct Professor at Sydney University in the Faculty of Medicine and is currently President of the Australian Integrative Medicine Association.

Aside from practicing as a General Practitioner at her Uclinic in Surry Hills, Professor Phelps sits on several boards. In May 2000 she became the first woman appointed Federal President of the Australian Medical Association. She's currently the health writer for the Australian Women's Weekly and writes political commentary for Medical Observer Magazine. In 2003 she was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to Health and Medicine. Jackie Stricker is Kerryn's wife and executive assistant - a former private school teacher whose teaching career ended when the couple was outed by a tabloid newspaper.

Why are you representing this same-sex law reform campaign?

Kerryn: It's really important to acknowledge the advances that have been made. So many people working so hard for so long to bring us closer to equality. It's something we really need to celebrate and I think we should WEAR IT WITH PRIDE. It says this law is really important to me and to our family.

Jackie: We've been fighting for equality for so long, since we got married in New York in 1998. So any equality that comes through is appreciated, and 85 law reforms is a big slab of that.

Why should people wear these 85 law reforms with pride?

Kerryn: If I could, I would wear every one of the 85 t-shirts.

Jackie: Maybe we could alternate day-to-day?

Kerryn: We could have a whole wardrobe full of them!

Jackie: We could cover 85 days.

Kerryn: I would like to wear every single one of them. Every one of these laws is important to someone, somewhere in Australia at some time in their lives and the important thing I think that people in our community need to do, gay and straight is...

Jackie: ...Stop being apathetic!

Kerryn: Don't be apathetic. Inform yourselves, educate yourselves, get on to the website and find out about the laws...

Jackie: And find out which ones appeal to you personally.

Kerryn: Wear the t-shirts, have a selection. Every season!

Jackie: Different colour, different slogan!

Have you or anyone you know experienced same-sex discrimination?

Jackie: I personally experienced it after we were outed in 1998. I was completely unaware that there was so much discrimination in schools in this country. I felt pretty much forced out of my job there. I know many other teachers who are frightened to come out because they fear for their jobs.

Kerryn: Every person in a same-sex relationship has suffered discrimination whether they know it or not. The people who really know about it are those who have faced a crisis where their sexuality has become an issue in their job or with their family. Maybe they've been expelled from their family or their partner hasn't been welcome at family events. We had a letter from an elderly woman who lost her partner and was denied access to her partner's bedside in a hospital because she was told she wasn't family. They had been together for 42 years! Now these are the sorts of stories that just shouldn't be happening in Australia in this century. What these law reforms mean is there will be fewer opportunities for these types of discrimination to happen.

Jackie: A friend of ours had a partner for many years. Our friend's partner died and the partner's family descended on the house and basically tried to kick our friend out of the house because they had no legal recognition of the relationship.

Kerryn: Parenting issues are so important to us. We have children, many of our friends and my patients have children. To date those children have been discriminated against under the law. Not within their family group or their friendship group, but under the law those children were at a tremendous disadvantage. It's very important that we look at how these parenting laws are going to affect children and their rights. It's very important that people inform themselves.

How do you think these reforms will make a difference to same-sex couples?

Kerryn: I think the broad reforms are very much something to be proud of. There have been some unintended consequences for certain groups, particularly the older people and retirees and people who are dependent on Centrelink. There needs to be some adjustment to make sure people aren't significantly disadvantaged when the laws come into action, because they haven't been able to plan for their retirement. So while I think that the vast majority of the law changes are very much welcome. Sometimes you have to take a little bit of the bad with the good when it comes to law reform and the fight for equality. But I do think that there needs to be consideration for those people who have suffered unintended consequences.

What's the next challenge for same-sex couples in Australia?

Jackie: I am waiting for the full equality to happen. I think it's wonderful that they've made 85 law reforms. However my opinion is that you're not equal until you're equal. I want to be completely equal with every other citizen in this country that pays taxes like I do, and has a family like we do.

Kerryn: We went to New York to get married for our own personal reasons. And 12 years later, when you look at the reforms in countries like Canada, South Africa, Spain, my view is that Australia is an international embarrassment. I think Australia really has so far to go and I think the longer it goes without real equality, which means complete equality, I think the more of an international embarrassment it becomes.

What do you like about your T-Shirt design?

Jackie: I like the rabbits. I just think that it's a fantastic, fantastic representation of families, it's just happy, it's good, which is what it should be about, the child is happy, it's inclusive, you've got two same-sex parents, happy, not obstructed by the law which is oppressive, it's just exactly the right message.

Kerryn: I like the message in the t-shirt - ‘2+1=us'. So many of the people in our community have children, are raising children, their own children, other people's children. I just think that it's so very important that this parenting message is out there in the public. This is a t-shirt that will appeal to so many people, it's very eye-catching, it's even the Australian colours.

Jackie: I'm going to wear this on Australia day with my shorts!