Australian Greens unlikely to move on gay marriage

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Green party in Australia is unlikely to make progress on gay marriage at a local level, despite new legislation regarding territorial autonomy, the Star Observer reports.

Senator Bob Brown, a member of the Greens, will table a private member�s bill that would require a Parliamentary veto to overturn territorial legislation, rather than a federal government�s current ability to overturn laws itself.

It was supposed this would �open the door� to gay marriage legislation by Australia�s territories and states, but Shane Rattenbury, the Greens� Member of the Legislative Assembly told the Star Observer this was unlikely in the ACT.

He said: �I don�t believe the ACT can legislate for marriage, full stop, whether Bob�s [Brown] bill passes or not.�

�Our best advice is that territories can�t do marriage, that�s a federal government responsibility. That�s why we support [Greens senator] Sarah Hanson-Young�s bill in the Senate for [same-sex] marriage.�

Instead, he suggested they would use the new powers to strengthen extant civil partnership laws.

However, some south-eastern states, including New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria, have signaled moves at their level towards gay marriage.

Rattenbury said: �Given the opportunity, we�d prefer to see the civil unions legislation in the ACT improved, no question.�

The Australian Marriage Equality national convener Alex Greenwich said the ACT should �move beyond� civil partnership schemes and move towards allowing gay marriage.

�Legislation allowing same-sex marriages is before the Tasmanian and South Australian Parliaments and has been proposed in NSW [New South Wales] and Victoria,� he said.

�It�s time for Jon Stanhope to fulfill [his] promise of equality to gay Canberrans by also moving beyond civil unions and allowing fully-fledged same-sex marriages.

�We welcome the fact the territories will be freer to make their own laws, including a civil union law with a legally-binding ceremony if they wish, but civil unions are not and cannot be a substitute for allowing same-sex marriages.�