Greens vote delivers best possible outcome for ACT couples

On the 10^th December in the ACT Legislative Assembly, the Greens reluctantly supported changes to our civil ceremonies legislation.  The changes were insisted on by the Federal Government in order to prevent a veto of the laws, and protect some of the gains that had been made..

The decision to support these changes was a really tough one for us, but ultimately we have been elected to represent the rights of people in the ACT, and we couldn’t risk the Federal ALP Government intervening to remove those rights once again.

Since the Greens original laws passed earlier in the year, couples in the ACT have been using ceremonies to create their civil partnerships, and as someone who has attended one of those ceremonies, I have seen how important they are for the couples involved.

By failing to rule out a veto against the ACT’s legislation, the Rudd Government has again confirmed their discrimination against same sex couples and their disrespect for the ACT parliament.

The Rudd Government did a deal behind closed doors with the ACT Government to water down our original legislation. The Rudd Government abused its power by not engaging in an open debate with the ACT Assembly and by not clarifying its position on a veto before the Assembly debated the changes.

Mr Rudd and his colleagues gave no significant reasons for their concerns and it can only be assumed that their opposition to our legislation was due to their pandering to conservative views that don’t respect diversity in our society.

By putting these conservative views ahead of what the elected representatives in the Assembly have determined is right for the people of the ACT is disrespectful both of the ACT and of the democratic process that we all value.

However, at the end of the day, the Greens couldn’t play politics with the lives of same sex couples in the ACT – their rights must come first. The changes that passed the Assembly on Thursday 10^th December mean that same sex couples will still be able to have a legally recognised ceremony and a notary officiating at their ceremonies.

We are still very proud to have introduced this legislation, and despite commentary that the whole package would be vetoed, there are real steps forward here.

The Greens will continue to work in all parliaments to eliminate ongoing discrimination against same sex couples. For example, our Federal colleagues in the Senate now have a Bill before the parliament for marriage equality.

Shane Rattenbury

ACT Greens MLA