The Australian Rainbow Labor Network has welcomed the overwhelming endorsement of ACT Labor for marriage equality.
Around 90 per cent of ACT Branch Conference Delegates today voted in favour of the following resolutions:
Conference calls upon the ALP National Conference to amend the platform to support the legal right of all adult couples in Australia to be married if they so choose, and for that marriage to be recognised and registered by law in Australia, regardless of the sexual orientation, or gender, of the parties to the marriage.
Conference acknowledges that civil unions of same sex couples do not deliver the same legal security and social recognition as marriage and that a relationship recognition scheme that is separate from marriage would continue to make members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community second-class citizens.
Conference calls upon the ALP National Conference to reject any motion to adopt a civil union scheme as a substitution for the rights of all adult couples, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity, to access marriage.
Conference calls for any parliamentary vote on same sex marriage to be taken as a binding vote for members of the federal parliamentary party, and that there not be a conscience vote on this issue.
Australian Rainbow Labor Network spokesman, ACT Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr, welcomed the strong support of the ACT Branch and acknowledged the Branch’s long‐standing record of support for fairness, equality and human rights.
“Marriage equality is about giving every Australian citizen the same rights. At the moment gay and lesbian people have lesser rights. ACT Labor members have recognised this unfairness and they have voted for change,” Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr pointed out that ACT Branch members had rejected a civil union scheme because it would not achieve equality for GLBTI people and would continue to see us as second‐class citizens.
For further comment, please contact Andrew Barr on 0409 473 301.
The Australian Rainbow Labor Network is a coalition comprised of the respective State and Territory Rainbow Labor organisations: which were established to promote gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex equality within the Australian Labor Party and to promote progressive policy debate within the ALP to the Australian GLBTI community.