Fridae

Same sex couples in Western Australia will now have the same rights as opposite sex de facto couples under new laws passed through Parliament on Thursday last week.

Under the Lesbian and Gay Law Reform Bill, gay couples will now not only have equal access to adoption procedures and IVF treatment but also couples in areas such as the transfer of property, medical treatment and inheritance or benefits upon the death of a partner - bringing WA into line with most other states.

The gay age of consent has now dropped from 21 to 16 - attracting a tremendous amount of public criticism.

Critics have expressed concern that that boys would be preyed on at bathhouses as under the new bill, the police will not be able to prosecute a bath house owner for allowing a 13-year-old boy to have sex in a premises if the owner can prove he or she thought the youth was 16.

The owners of Perth Steam Works and Beaufort 565 told the West Australian that claims that boys would be preyed on at bathhouses were completely unfounded.

Despite the age of consent being lowered, Michael Chester of Perth Steam Works have said that his no under-18s policy would stand regardless and also his liquor licence forbade juveniles entering the building.

Peter Foss, an opposition legal affairs spokesman said that the bill was slipshod and badly thought out and vowed that his future liberal government would repeal sections of the bill, according to the paper.

He claimed that parts of the bill exposed children to paedophilia, and suggested amending the bill to make it an obligation on owners of gay bathhouses to ensure patrons were over 18 and banning sex between an adult and a juvenile if the age difference was more than 10 years.