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Labor Position on Gay Marriage Bill
2004-Jun-01, Tuesday 15:01Nicola Roxon Media Release - Gay Marriage - Labor Position on Government Bill - 1 June 2004
Nicola Roxon MP
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women
Media Release
Marriage will remain a union between a man and a woman, but same sex couples are entitled to recognition as de factos.
Labor position on Government Bill
The Labor Party will not oppose the PM's measures to confirm in the Marriage Act the common law understanding that marriage is "a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others". Consistent with this, Labor will also not oppose a prohibition on recognising foreign same sex marriages.
While Labor questions the PM's motives and reasons for bringing on this issue for debate now, and questions whether it is necessary, Labor does not oppose these parts of the Bill which merely confirm existing law and our previous commitments to keeping marriage as a heterosexual institution.
However Labor does not support the Government's attempts to interfere in adoption issues. Adoption has always been an issue for the States and Territories to determine, as the PM himself acknowledges. It is inconsistent and inappropriate for the PM to try and interfere in this issue simply because some children are being adopted from overseas. Rigorous eligibility standards apply at the State and Territory level and we have confidence that those processes ensure the best interests of the child are paramount.
Labor will move amendments to this Bill and refer the Bill to a Senate Committee for a full exploration of the technical issues that arise and to ensure the broader community has an opportunity to express their views on this Bill.
Labor position on acknowledgement and recognition of same sex couples
More importantly, Labor restates its commitment to remove discriminatory provisions from Commonwealth legislation on the basis of sexuality, following a full audit of existing laws.
This audit will commence immediately once Labor is elected to Government. It will allow issues of substance, such as superannuation, taxation, social security and much more, to be addressed comprehensively.
When complete, this will give same sex couples the rights and recognition of heterosexual de facto couples.
A decent compromise?
Well, that is indeed an extremely clever response. It dodges the bullet nicely (there is a very strong Labor Catholic Trade Union faction that would have serious issues with gay marriage, and it's been suggested that the bill was aimed at getting Labor to walk into intra-party controversy), whilst at least trying to do the best that can be done without actually saying the phrase "gay marriage". De facto is pretty damn close... That's the point of de facto in the first place. De facto married, i.e., "in fact married". That is an extremely clever position to take.
Oh, and what they're referring to above as regards common law definition is what I wrote about in mordwen's journal.
Basically, the definition of marriage as "a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life", is due to common law, not legislation! Both the Family Law Act and the Marriage Act contain wording about what a marriage is supposed to be. However, neither of these actually constitute an express definition. See In Re Kevin, especially item number 8. in the introduction.
Apparently it all goes back to one Lord Penzance, in Hyde v. Hyde and Woodmansee (1866), who declared: "I conceive that marriage, as understood in Christendom, may ... be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others."
And plenty of cases set before the courts have accepted this definition. So, the definition is based in common law, backed up by implied definitions as stated in two different Acts.
