Civil unions gone
Queensland’s Civil Partnerships Act will be renamed the Registered Relationships Act and further watered down despite assurances from Premier Campbell Newman that it would only be amended to remove access to state-sanctioned ceremonies for same-sex couples.
A bill was introduced into State Parliament overnight that will see civil unions now known as “registered relationships” and streamlined so they can be dissolved through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, rather than the District Court.
“This distinguishes and preserves the institution of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman under the Marriage Act,” Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said when introducing the bill.
He said the changes to “deregistering” a relationship were made to ensure it did not “equate to the legal procedure to dissolve a marriage”.
The shock move comes just days after the state’s deputy speaker, Cleveland MP Mark Robinson, broke ranks with the Liberal National Party (LNP) by claiming he wanted civil union laws to be fully repealed to reflect the concerns “of the large majority of Queenslanders”.
“It is not an easy thing for the party room to balance the fact that the large majority of Queenslanders have real concerns about [civil unions] and do want us to overturn it but to balance that with the individual rights of the gay and lesbian community,” Robinson told ABC Radio.
Newman responded to Robinson’s comments at the time by saying that his decision to not repeal the Civil Partnerships Act was final.
“We need to act for all Queenslanders,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
“We take the views of our party membership very very strongly but at the end of the day we need to make policy and indeed laws for all Queenslanders.”
Last week, the Queensland state parliamentary leader of Katter’s Australian Party, Shane Knuth, pledged to move an amendment to fully repeal civil unions and said he had the backing of many LNP MPs, including former LNP leader John Paul-Langbroek.
Australian Christian Lobby Queensland director Wendy Francis said she believed the union scheme would be renamed as a relationship register when she welcomed Newman’s initial announcement earlier this month.
The new bill has been fast-tracked and could be passed as early as tonight.
[…] criticism of the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s move to restore civil unions as frivolous – following the former Newman Liberal National administration’s decision to strip them back to ̶…“ – given the current national debate on marriage […]
Labor changed the Marriage Act, voting with Tony Abbott to exclude same-sex couples from marrying. Federal Labor also has not included same-sex attracted people in the Equal Opportunity Act, after years of government. I vote Green as they do not seek to make the birth of Australians a punishment.
John Howard mate, not Tony Abbott!
And I ask again- when will some Australian non-LGBT lobby group organise a formal boycott of Queensland products and services for taking this step???
WOW . . thank you Meg! I wonder why it is the STATE that has to be the ONLY authority to grant divorce . . not a church . . . because it is the STATE that regulates the laws of Marriage . . the Churches act as agents of the State . . . they have no ‘power’ in terms of marriage in law except that granted by the State . . . . so Newman and pals . . . whatever the Christian minority wants (see the new figures from the ABS . . . yes a minority!!) it gets, yet what another ‘minority’ expects in terms of equality (Gay and Lesbian)just misses out . . . Oh Queensland . . something one day and even worse the next. There goes my (actually our . . . am I allowed to say that in Qld?) booked holiday to the Gold Coast! Never again!
I hate labels, but as a heterosexual, married for 26 years to same man, mother of a son and daughter, both born in wedlock to the same father and mother, been in QLD for 30 years,
You would think this would make us a good candidate for this question apparently not.
I can tell you now that at no time did anyone ask me what I thought of same sex unions,
Alias, I am not eligible to make this judgment according to the STATE GOVERNMENT of QUEENSLAND,
I default this right as I was not married in a church, I had a Queensland State civil ceremony.
(Remember the QLD government stated that the Christian lobby was the main reason that the law has been repealed)
Hmmmm, what will happen to my rights if the CHURCH (Christian lobby) and present government deem this is not up to standard and revokes these marriages as well?
What about marriages 2, 3,4,5,6 not recognized as it clearly states “to death do us part” in the CHURCHES marriage vows.
What about those in defacto relationships, you don’t think that upsets the CHURCH, living in sin.
Wait till they take your rights away when a partner dies as you weren’t married by the church.
I hear screams of this will never happen, but it just has happened right in front of our eyes.
Am I writing this because I have gay children, awhile ago I would have said yes?
My answer now is, NO.
This is all our problems; this is still about basic rights but may affect all of us in QUEENSLAND.
So before you sit back and say this doesn’t affect me, take a closer look.
…remember all those blogs that claim there is no difference between Labor and Liberal on L&G rights?
Sweet.. the so called ‘majority’ obviously rules over the rights of minorities, so maybe white people can ‘de-register’ Aborigines’ right to vote or take away the rights of disabled people to government assistance. You know, if it’s what the ‘majority’ feels comfortable with…
Oh well, the good news in all of this is that Queenslanders appear to be recognizing how ridiculous the LNP is being in all of this.