Gay Marriage

In the past 12 months, the issue of marriage equality has appeared many times on both national, and international news. Currently, in Australia, it is un-lawful for same sex couples to marry, a decision that has raised many arguments amongst Australians. As of November 2008, Australian same sex couples were allowed the same rights as heterosexual unmarried couples, in areas such as taxation. This act was a step forward for these de-facto couples, yet it begged the question, why aren't they allowed to marry? Although this is an issue of heated debate amongst the public, the proposed Equality of marriage bill did not pass through Parliament when it was last introduced in February 2010.

Although usually issues relating to marriage and divorce are handled at a state level, this particular debate is operating on a Federal level of Parliament. This is due to the fact that any bill attempting to allow same-sex couples to marry will have to amend the current Marriage Act 1961. This fact in itself has raised some legal debate, as all other laws relating to marriage are controlled by the respective state governments. However, as this is seen to be a change that could undermine the basis of Australia's legal system, the issue has been left with federal parliament. However, if the bill were to pass and same-sex couples were allowed to marry within Australia, the power would then pass to the Registry Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages, within each state. Presumably, as the bill aims for an equality of marriage, if it were to pass then the Registry office would be responsible for ensuring that the couples are married legally, and taxation and other affected areas are changed suitably.

As any legal institution should, the Australian Parliament works with the best interests of its people at its heart, this is why the issue of marriage equality has become such an issue. According to galaxy polls over the last 2 years, 62% of Australians support marriage equality, forcing one to wonder why a government would disagree with what appears to be the majority of their people's opinion. The current Governments main response to the issue is that it would be in direct conflict with Australia's basic principles, which are based on the bible. This argument itself does have merit, although Australia is becoming a more multicultural country, it was founded on core Christian values. However, according to the same polls, 53% of Christians are in support of the marriage equality bill. Furthermore, it has been reported, that the Tasmanian lower house is in near-full support of a state-wide marriage equality bill, and is urging Federal Parliament to amend the act, to at least allow separate states to decide the future of same-sex marriage. According to these facts, it would seem that the Australian parliament is working against the desires of the majority of the population. In regards to the legal processes that apply to