Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws

The majority voted against Greens amendment (1), which would have changed the Marriage Act to legalise same-sex marriage if it had been successful.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young explained that:

This amendment deals with amending the Marriage Act to ensure that in this particular bill, which is the general law reform bill, we enable same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples to have the same rights and entitlements as each other. There is one glaring omission from this particular bill, and that is the Marriage Act. I have flagged this numerous times. The Greens have been talking about the need for gay marriage law reform for a long time and this is the appropriate place to do this.

Motion text

(1) Schedule 2, page 21 (after line 16), after item 60, insert:

Marriage Act 1961

60A Section 5 (definition of marriage)

Omit “a man and a woman”, substitute “two persons, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity”.

60B Subsection 47(1)

Omit “a man and a woman”, substitute “two persons, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity”.