Openly-gay South Australian State Labor MP, Ian Hunter, writes:
In the wake of New York’s historic decision to legalise same sex marriages, I find myself increasingly frustrated by the Australian Government’s refusal to provide Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI) to same sex couples who wish to wed overseas in countries that recognise marriage equality.
As someone who is considering marrying their partner overseas, I am personally affected and outraged by this bureaucratic bigotry.
Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage are designed to assure foreign governments that the applicants can legally be married overseas; they confirm that applicants are of marriageable age, aren’t closely related to each other and aren’t currently married in Australia.
The Australian government refuses to provide CNIs to same sex couples, a policy that has been in place in 2004. This is despite a 2009 tri-partisan Senate Committee inquiry into same sex marriage that recommended same sex couples have access to CNIs. The Senate Committee found:
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