Civil union fallout continues

There’s been widespread disappointment and anger in response to yesterday’s announcement by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman that he will amend the state’s Civil Partnerships Act to preclude same-sex couples from having a state-sanctioned ceremony.

The first significant rollback of relationship rights for same-sex couples in Australia, the changes were explained as a demonstration of good faith to Christian churches who lobbied to repeal civil unions because they emulated marriage.

Newman said yesterday that the decision was made after a lengthy discussion with cabinet and talks with church representatives, but admitted he hadn’t consulted with the LGBT community about the decision, claiming he’d met with gay advocates before the election and knew where they stood.

When the Star Observer contacted Newman’s office today to enquire as to which LGBT representatives he’d met with prior to the election, a media spokesman told the paper the premier was “not about to rattle off a list of people he’s met with” and that people come to him for discussions “in confidence” all the time.

When pressed for a single LGBT representative he’d met with prior to the election, the spokesman said he’d spoken with PFLAG’s Shelley Argent, however, he couldn’t say if this was an official meeting.

Argent told the Star Observer that Newman continued to say he’d met with her, but this wasn’t the case.

“The only time I have spoken or met with him was one day at an airport where we had a conversation while getting on a plane, the other was when I confronted him in front of media [during the election campaign], which was when I asked him to meet with the gay community – I even gave him a time and a date – but he wouldn’t,” she said.

Australian Christian Lobby Queensland director Wendy Francis meanwhile welcomed yesterday’s proposed changes to the Act, saying she believed the union scheme would be renamed as a relationship register in due course and have all references to sexuality removed.

“We have never sought to diminish substantive rights for homosexual people under the law, but to protect marriage from what was a Bligh Government political stunt,” Francis said.

“We were seeking that this legislation not include ceremonies, celebrants or be same-sex specific and it would appear that that has been achieved, and we congratulate the Government on that.”

Marriage equality advocates said that the removal of official ceremonies highlighted the importance of achieving marriage equality nationally.

“Civil unions can be tampered with and watered down but marriage will always provide full recognition,” Australian Marriage Equality national convenor Alex Greenwich said.

Greenwich said he is deeply troubled by Newman’s statement that state-sanctioned ceremonies will be removed because they offend some Christians.

“Religious values, however deeply held, can never be a reason to take away people’s rights,” he said.

More than 600 civil unions have been registered in Queensland since their introduction in February.