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Aus govt quashes gay union law
13/06/2006 13:14 - (SA)
Sydney - Australia's conservative government on Tuesday quashed the country's first law to allow gay and lesbian marriages, despite calls for equality for same-sex couples.
The law passed by the state government in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) would have permitted gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions with the same recognition as marriage.
But Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the laws, due to have come into effect on June 19, had been disallowed before they could be used.
"The legislative amendments introduced to establish a civil arrangement for same-sex parties and others in the ACT will no longer be law," he said.
Marriage defined in federal law
The ACT bill was introduced in defiance of a federal law passed two years ago by the government of Prime Minister John Howard that formally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The Australian Capital Territory, like all other Australian states and territories, is controlled by the left-of-centre opposition Labour Party.
Howard said last week that the ACT bill was "plainly an attempt to mimic marriage under the misleading title of civil unions".
Decision 'arrogant and undemocratic'
The ACT government said it was angry with the federal government for interfering with a decision made by its democratically elected parliament.
"The decision today is both arrogant and undemocratic," the territory's Attorney-General Simon Corbell told AFP.
"It ignores the will of the people of the ACT and their elected representatives to remove discrimination for people in same-sex relationships."
Law 'provocative'
But Ruddock defended the government's move, describing the ACT law as provocative.
"We have no quarrel with the territory's legislating in those areas in which it has responsibility, and we accept the decisions they make supported by their electorate - except when they provocatively and deliberately seek to intrude into areas for which they have no responsibility," he said.
Corbell said his government would push for federal parliament to overrule Tuesday's decision or for a similar law to be passed in ACT.
"We won't be backing down on this issue," he said.
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