Lizzie Nagy
& Kylie Moon
The Senate sat an extra day on August 13 to enable the passage of the Marriage Amendment Act, which declares that marriages between same-sex couples in other countries will not be legally recognised as such in Australia.
Enshrining discrimination will have satisfied many right-wing Christians, one of whom said at the August 4-6 National Marriage Forum in Canberra, "Homosexuals are the moral terrorists of the 21st century".
There has been a lot of anger with the ALP over its fast-tracking of the bill through the Senate. Nicola Roxon, Labor shadow attorney-general, who announced the ALP's support for passing the bill at the National Marriage Forum, responded by saying: "I am sure you are aware that the extensive reforms committed to by the Labor Party can only be implemented if a Labor government is elected, and it is all too clear that there will be no same-sex reforms at all if the Howard government is returned to office."
On August 14, 500 people rallied in Sydney to protest the legislation. Protesters marched from Oxford Street to the ALP headquarters, chanting "Shame Labor, shame!"
Socialist Alliance candidate for Sydney Susan Price urged the rally not to rely on politicians to win our rights for us, recounting how people power in the streets was key to overturning discriminatory laws in many states. "We need to build our own political alternatives. Yes we want Howard out, but we are not giving Labor a blank cheque to continue the attacks of this government. We are going to continue to fight to get this legislation repealed!"
Democrats Senator Brian Greig told the rally that his biggest disappointment with Labor was its embracing of the religious right. He warned the gay and lesbian community that "these bigots are on the rise. They are not benign and they will not stop here."
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said that "around the world the trend is to recognise same-sex relationships. We may not have won it yesterday but we are going to."
Other actions against the legislation took place around the country, including a rally of 50 people in Hobart and a same-sex "kiss-in" in Melbourne.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, August 18, 2004.
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