Fed: Labor under pressure over gay marriage

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2004
Fed: Labor under pressure over gay marriage

By Paul Osborne

CANBERRA, Aug 10 AAP - The gay rights lobby and the Australian Democrats have stepped
up pressure on Labor to recognise same-sex relationships.

The Labor caucus today voted to back government laws to ban gay marriage.

The ALP reaffirmed its policy of pushing for changes to a raft of laws to recognise
the rights of de facto and same-sex couples.

But Democrats Senator Brian Greig said his party would this week reintroduce its anti-discrimination
bills and seek to amend the Marriage Act to include the recognition of same-sex couples
along a de facto model.

"If Labor is genuine about same-sex partnership recognition, anti-discrimination protections
and effective anti-vilification laws as it claims to be, then it has no excuse for voting
against these proposals," Senator Greig said.

The Democrats' anti-discrimination bills have been on the parliament notice paper for
nine years, but have not yet been brought on for debate.

"It is crunch time for Labor," Senator Greig said.

"The Democrats will move to bring on these issues this week and Labor will have the
chance to either vote for them or against them."

National gay rights body, the Equal Rights Network, was angry with Labor's position.

"The ALP has sold out the lesbian and gay community in the vain hope of winning the
fundamentalist vote," spokesman Rodney Croome said.

Very few gay community members felt Labor would deliver on its commitments to change
other laws relating to tax, immigration and superannuation, he said.

Labor Leader Mark Latham said while the party believed the traditional institution
of marriage was for a man and a woman, it wanted to clear away all areas of discrimination
against same-sex couples.

"When it comes to the Marriage Act, we believe that should be preserved as the traditional
institution for a man and a woman," Mr Latham told ABC radio in Perth.

"And the appropriate thing for the same-sex couples is to end the areas of discrimination
that impact on their daily lives such as superannuation, tax and migration laws."

Left-wing Labor frontbenchers voiced concerns in shadow cabinet yesterday after legal
affairs spokeswoman Nicola Roxon told a forum on Christian marriage last week that the
ALP did not support gay marriage.

The members wanted Labor to wait for a Senate inquiry report to be released in October
before coming to a position on the government's amendments, which are expected to go to
a vote in the Senate this week.

But a caucus spokeswoman said the party room today unanimously supported the position.

Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said Labor was deeply divided over the issue.

"They have been impetuous on defence, they have dithered on trade, and now when it
comes to marriage, the family and the future of our children, they treat this important
social institution as a political football," Mr Anderson said.

AAP pjo/sb/lb/de

KEYWORD: MARRIAGE NIGHTLEAD

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