Source: News.com.au, Sydney Star Observer, and Wikipedia
CLAUSES in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) civil partnerships bill that would allow gay couples to hold a public ceremony marking their union are unacceptable, Attorney-General Robert McClelland says.
"We think a civil unions register along the lines of Tasmania is appropriate," Mr McClelland told The Australian newspaper.
"The ceremonial aspects of the ACT model were inappropriate."
ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell said this week the territory would not back from its plans to allow gay couples some form of ceremony.
"We will stand by our commitment to our community for the legal option for a ceremony - that is our position," Mr Corbell told The Australian.
The ACT Attorney-General told a rally in support of civil unions on Saturday he would not back down on allowing formal ceremonies for same-sex couples, opposed by the Federal Government.
The disagreement had become a sticking point for ACT independence, despite the Federal Government promising in January not to override the semi-autonomous territory's civil partnerships bill.
"The [ACT] Government will not walk away from the principle that people in a same-sex relationship should be entitled to enter that relationship legally before the law and to do so through a formal ceremony that is recognised by the law," told the 100-strong crowd of supporters on Saturday.
"We should be able to say, if we want to recognise same-sex relationships in this way, and if the democratically elected Assembly chooses to legislate in that way, then that is what the law should be."
The remarks by the federal attorney general leave the commonwealth poised for a confrontation with the ACT Labor Government.
Mr Corbell said the ACT would seek to abolish powers in the ACT Self-Government Act that allowed the commonwealth (federal government) to override territory law, describing them as "archaic and undemocratic".
Federal veto rights over ACT legislation were last employed by the Howard Government to overturn the 2005 civil unions bill.
Mr Corbell said the issue showed the limits of the ACT's law-making powers. He said he would approach the new Government to change the Self-Government Act.
Apart from the city of Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory also contains agricultural land with several small townships and communities, and Namadgi National Park -- a large area that is mostly mountainous and forested.
The ACT has internal self-government, but it does not have the full legislative independence of the Australian states. It is governed by a Ministry headed by a Chief Minister. Laws are made in a 17-member Legislative Assembly that has all state and local government functions. However, its decisions can be overruled by the national government under section 35 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988.
The federal government can kybosh territory laws with an act of parliament or by instructing the Governor-General to disallow the legislation, which is how the Howard Government scuttled the ACT's Civil Unions Bill in 2006.
While the veto remains a threat, Corbell said he would continue the negotiations that began with high-ranking officials last month, aiming for a resolution by April and the partnerships with legal ceremonies enacted by the middle of the year.
The Rudd Government has previously opposed gay civil unions and prefers a system of state-based relationship registers.
Mr McClelland's comments would seem to resolve apparently conflicting promises from the Rudd team who, before the election, told the Australian Christian Lobby Labor would oppose civil unions, while also assuring the ACT that federal Labor would not interfere with territory legislation.
Mr McClelland declined to say whether the Government was prepared to override territory legislation if the ACT defied the commonwealth and passed the bill.
A relationship register differs from a civil union in that it encompasses a broader range of relationships, including non-intimate ones, such as carer relationships.
Full article: Public gay unions unacceptable - McClelland | NEWS.com.au
ACT TAKES A STAND FOR CEREMONIES | Sydney Star Observer