More states to follow Tasmania

More states to follow Tasmania

Other state Greens branches are considering putting forward motions like that passed by the Tasmanian Parliament on September 21, giving in-principle support to same-sex marriage, while the Young Labor National Conference and Mildura ALP branch have moved to support marriage equality.

NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann said her party would consider proposing a similar motion.

“The Greens will look seriously at moving a similar motion at the right time, though there are incredibly conservative elements in the NSW Upper House right now so we have that to take into consideration.”

The NSW Greens have already committed to moving for state-based marriage equality if federal Parliament fails to act.

South Australian Greens MLC Tammy Franks said she would see if a similar partnership could be built with state Labor on the issue.

“Seeing the success of the Tasmanian approach in putting forward a motion and working with Labor, the Greens in South Australia certainly intend to test the waters to see if we can build a similar coalition,” she said.

Victorian Greens MLC Sue Pennicuik said her party would consider a similar motion alongside a bill they are drawing up for same-sex marriage at a state level.

“We’ll be doing either of those in the next month when Parliament comes back,” she said.

The Tasmnaian marriage equality motion, moved by Greens leader Nick McKim, was passed 13 – 9 last week.

“Love doesn’t discriminate … but the law still does discriminate and unfortunately that prevents some people from marrying the person they love,” Tasmania’s Greens leader told the Lower House.

“Poll after poll after poll in this country, and this state, have shown overwhelming majority community support for marriage equality.”

Premier Lara Giddings said she was pleased to support the motion.

“We’ve come a long way since 1997 [when Tasmania decriminalised homosexuality] — we now have the opportunity to go further and lead the nation,” she said. “Personal moral disapproval is not reason enough to allow discrimination to continue.”

Meanwhile on Sunday, the National Young Labor Conference in Canberra voted for federal Labor MPs to have a binding vote on the issue, while the Mildura and District branch of the ALP passed a resolution calling for same-sex marriage to be added to the party’s platform.

According to former Labor candidate Ali Cupper, the resolution was inspired by a local mum, Helen Nicholas, whose 28-year-old son is gay.

“If we accept that marriage can be a positive and stabilising influence on family life, why wouldn’t we want to broaden its reach to include gay families?” Cupper said.

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2 responses to “More states to follow Tasmania”

  1. some people seriously think that Gay marriage has been legalised in Tasmania. Only a motion has passed which needs the support of every other state (which I doubt). The extreme left has truly let out the wrong information.