The next few days will be momentous ones for marriage equality in Australia.
The good news is: Same-sex marriages are due to commence under the ACT’s Marriage Equality Act on Saturday.
The bad news is: The High Court is due to hear the Federal Government’s case against the ACT’s Act on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Independent Sydney MP and long-time marriage equality advocate Alex Greenwich gives us some insights into what’s going on, and how this eventful week may eventually lead to equal marriage for every Australian.
The ACT’s Marriage Equality (Same-Sex) Act is before the High Court this week.
The Commonwealth Government is preparing its attack, the ACT is preparing its defence, and marriage equality advocates are furiously and effectively working the halls of parliament in Canberra.
But most importantly, loving and committed same-sex couples are planning their weddings, due to begin on Saturday.
We could know the outcome of the case by mid-week. All marriage equality supporters want the ACT laws to be upheld and for love to win.
The ACT Government deserves credit for courageously moving forward with its legislation.
But in the rush it potentially left its law open to this challenge, despite receiving advice on how to safe-guard it by some of the greatest legal minds in the country.
This doesn’t excuse some of the arguments put forward by the Federal Government.
It is playing up to prejudice by using words like “natural” to describe the federal Marriage Act, “mimicking marriage ” to describe the ACT law and by suggesting state same-sex marriage laws are the first step to state incestuous marriage laws.
If the ACT law is overturned, my guess is it won’t be because the High Court has fallen for the furphy that same-sex marriage will lead to people marrying goats and plasma screens.
But many people fear the High Court will look at the drafting of the ACT legislation and decide it may be in constitutional conflict with the Federal marriage act and doesn’t go far enough to establish the Territory’s own status of same-sex marriage, strong and separate from the federal laws, something they were warned about.
Should the legislation be overturned, the next challenge will be using that ruling, and the expert legal advice we already have, to strengthen the ACT’s legislation, and indeed other legislation at a state and federal level.
Many supporters of equality, including myself, will be tempted to blame the Abbott Government for challenging the laws and also blame the ACT government for ignoring expert advice on how to strengthen its law.
Both would be justified, but, this won’t help a couple who has been planning to get married for 30 years and should have the chance to do it on Australian soil.
A lesson I have learnt in my first year as an MP is that it is better to outplay your opponents and work with your friends than waste time apportioning blame.
This strategy allowed me to keep my anti-discrimination bill alive with Labor Party support, get a complaints procedure established in the Board of Studies with the Government’s support, and greatly annoy Fred Nile.
Whatever the outcome of the current High Court case, supporters of reform should be ready to continue to move marriage equality forward together.
Most importantly, the focus must not be on political point scoring but on doing everything we can do to ensure every Australian can marry the person they love in the country they love.
Alex Greenwich is the Independent MP for the Sydney electorate.
Author: Alex Greenwich
Publication: same same
Date: 2 December 2013
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