Marriage bill to be introduced tomorrow

Victorian Greens MLC Sue Pennicuik will introduce her Marriage Equality Bill into state Parliament tomorrow afternoon.

The bill will presumably allow same-sex couples to marry in Victoria if passed.

“Much has happened in the quest for marriage equality in recent years and support in the community is growing,” Pennicuik said.

“Polls show that around two-thirds of Australians (and rising) support same-sex marriage.

“This is an issue that will not go away until it is fixed.”

Pennicuik said it was preferrable that gay marriage was legislated at a federal level by amending the Marriage Act 1961 to allow same-sex couples to marry.

“However, if this is not allowed, there is always the option of introducing laws in the states of Australia to allow specifically for same-sex marriage,” she said.

Equal Love Victorian spokesman Anthony Wallace told the Star Observer he supported the bill and it was really important to see this support for marriage equality at a state level.

“On a state base, it just goes to show how out of touch our federal politicians are on the matter of marriage equality,” he said.

Wallace said it would be unfortunate if Australians had to resort to a state-by-state basis on same-sex marriage.

He said there were concerns about the likelihood of a Coalition Government at next year’s federal election.

“We believe states do have the power to rewrite state legislation in regards to marriage and we would be seeking for individual states to come on board in support of marriage equality,” he said.

“We would like to see the great land of Australia embrace this wholly but we will be seeking to get legal recognition for people in same-sex relationships and if that means getting it across the line on a state base, we’ll take that.”

Last week, the NSW Upper House passed a motion urging federal politicians to allow gay marriage.