{Australia} Bills Being Introduced for Same Sex Marriage
TWO separate private member's bills to legalise same-sex marriage will be introduced today in a historic move for the gay rights movement.
Labor backbencher Stephen Jones will present his bill to legalise gay marriage while Greens MP Adam Bandt and Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie will sponsor a second bill.
Mr Wilkie's bill, however, carries a caveat that religious ministers will not be obliged to perform same-sex ceremonies.
But with Labor MPs allowed a conscience vote on the issue, the twin bills appear doomed to be voted down by the combined forces of its Labor opponents - including Prime Minister Julia Gillard - and the Coalition.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has refused to allow a conscience vote and warned Liberal MPs last year against crossing the floor in contravention of party policy, which opposes same-sex marriage.
Yet another bill seeking to legalise same-sex marriage will be introduced later this year with the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young announcing her intentions to seek to present a bill in the upper house.
Mr Bandt has aired fears Labor and the opposition have colluded to water down Mr Jones' bill to civil unions, which is not expected to go to a vote for several months.
But Mr Jones told ABC radio today that assertion ''was putting the cart before the horse''.
The expected introduction of the backbencher's bill comes after December's national conference voted to reverse the party's long-standing opposition to same-sex marriage.
While Mr Jones will make history as the first ALP member to attempt to legalise same-sex marriage; he will also be the first government MP to introduce a bill that is voted down by his own party.
The member for the blue-collar seat of Throsby in the Illawarra region in NSW, says he has the support of ministers and of the Left but admits he does not expect the bill - which will propose to amend the Marriage Act to include gay and lesbian couples - to pass the House of Representatives.
But he said the prospect of defeat was not a deterrent as the legislation was "a reflection of the basic Labor Party values of equity and fairness''. ''I have not been a crusader on this issue,'' Mr Jones said. ''I came late but it is about how we treat people and the respect we afford their choices.''
Nationals senator Ron Boswell said today he was ‘‘absolutely’’ opposed to the same-sex marriage bills.
‘‘If you are going to have a society, a society must be based on the family and marriage underpins the family,’’ he told reporters in Canberra.
He said moving towards a society that openly embraced same-sex marriage was a ‘‘very dangerous course’’.
‘‘Thank goodness, I think the numbers are not there for it to get through,’’ he said.
Labor backbencher Andrew Leigh said this morning he intended to support the Jones bill, while his Western Sydney MP colleague David Bradbury confirmed he would not vote to legalise gay marriage.
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