State marriage ‘possible’

ACT Chief Minister John Stanhope has given further weight to the argument that same-sex marriage could be legislated for by states if the Federal Government failed to act.

Stanhope told the National Press Club today that a loophole in the amendment to the Marriage Act passed by the Howard government could allow states and territories to pass laws to allow gay marriage.

Stanhope had no plans to move to legalise same-sex marriage in the nation’s capital, but told the room, “Howard, in his determination to strengthen the barricades around the Marriage Act by amending it so it could only apply to a marriage between a man and a woman, may have actually made it easier for jurisdictions with an appetite to legislate for gay marriage.

“If the Commonwealth now explicitly legislates only in the area of marriage between a man and a woman, mightn’t it be open for a state or territory to legislate for like relationships that aren’t between a man and a woman?”

The Federal Government would have to resort to the courts if wanted to overturn state legislation.

Stanhope was speaking at the club about a Greens bill aimed at giving territories greater powers to make their own laws by restricting the federal veto power over territory legislation.

He told the audience that debate over the bill had been hijacked by conservative commentators who were focusing the discussion on euthanasia and gay marriage while ignoring territory rights.

Last year constitutional expert and University of NSW law professor George Williams wrote that states were not bound by the federal Marriage Act or other definitions of marriage in the Constitution and could pass their own laws for marriage between people of the same sex.

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10 responses to “State marriage ‘possible’”

  1. I HAVE SAID IT AGAIN AND AGAIN:
    5 FACTS:
    1. Marriage equality is a FEDERAL issue under the Commonwealth of Australia (Federal) Marriage Act 1961!
    2. Marriage equality is NOT a state/territory issue, there are no laws at all governing marriage at a state/territory level!
    3. The Australian Constitution does mention marriage under powers of the Commonwealth, but DOES NOT define marriage, so the referendum question is not needed (unlike Ireland)!
    4. The High Court of Australia back in 2013 said that the ACT (that is the Australian Capital Territory) has NO RIGHT to pass laws on marriage, but the federal government DOES have a right to define marriage under the statute of the Marriage Act 1961, which both Labor and Liberal parties did just that in 2004 – defined as between a man and a woman!
    5. Same-sex marriage is possible in Australia (maybe in the year 2100), the trouble is only 20% of lawmakers support and voted for SSM in the House of Representatives and 25% of lawmakers support and voted for SSM in the Senate both voted on in 2012!

  2. The church never ever owned marriage. It happened in all cultures. The government only regulated marriage in recent history, during the time of the White Australia Policy. There was a time when the couple getting married owned marriage.

    Labor and Liberal are telling lies about the history and nature of marriage.

  3. I no longer support same sex marriage. Instead I advocate for the abolition of any Govt recognition of any form of relationship.
    There should be no entitlements or penalites applied to a person based solely on their relationship status. I want the Govt to treat everyone as single. Give marriage back to the church, including gay churches. The Govt doesn’t need to be involved.

  4. @N.Starling what we have in the form of legal protection is the results of years of tireless campaigning and battling, originally there was to be further protections for us passed into law, but it didn’t get through in time before the state elections went through, once Labour was out of office it was one of the first things to hit the chopping block, the liberals hold the balance of power on the state level, and the Greens have no way to protect us on that front.

    It’s sad if you truly believe just because the greens hold a balance of power on some level that protects you from the malicious intent of any political party, but you probably won’t see that until these changes to the Equal Opportunity Act pass, and you’re refused service in stores and other areas that used to be protected under law…

    Read this if you don’t understand:
    https://starobserver.com.au/news/2011/03/24/local-fight-for-equal-rights/47738

  5. @ DaveC: i thought thats what the Greens held the balance of power for ? To guarantee agendas are not slipped past not only our community but all voting Aussies ? I hate to be a wet blanket however i do not feel we are going to ever see equality in this country

  6. It is good to see a loophole in the laws that could further the gay marriage push, however while more attention is focused on the gay marriage debate and campaign; states are quietly stripping away other rights and protections: Take Victoria at the moment; the Equal Opportunity act is being reversed & modified to allow religious organisations free pass to discriminate against the LGBTIQ Community, yet we’re so focused on the Gay Marriage Issue that the equally important changes to these laws are being pushed through under our noses, and by the time we realise how much damage has been done; it’ll be too late!
    While allowing states to make their own laws on these things may be a good step forward, it really needs to be effected at a national level to be totally protected.