Civil Unions Act 2006
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The Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT) was an Act of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly which established civil unions for same-sex, opposite-sex or transgender couples that allowed for equal legal recongnition with marriage under territory law. The act attracted much public attention and sparked a conflict between the Australian Capital Territory and the Commonwealth.
The act was subject to Commonwealth antagonism since drafting, with the Commonwealth claiming the ACT was attempting to legislate marriage, a matter which the Commonwealth has exclusive constitutional power over. The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, stated that "the legislation, by its own admission, is an attempt to equate civil unions with marriage and we don't find that acceptable." This position was further confirmed by Senator Nick Minchin's comments on behalf of the Liberal Party, "...it is clear that the intent and purpose of that act is to equate a civil union to a marriage. In that sense we regarded it as repugnant." (verified by Hansard documents) [citation needed] Following the law's enactment on 9 June 2006, the Attorney-General of Australia announced that the Commonwealth would move to overrule it. On 13 June 2006, the Federal Executive Council instructed the Governor-General of Australia to disallow the Act.
The disallowance of the Civil Unions Act was criticised heavily by opposition parties and civil rights advocates, and on 15 June 2006 a motion was moved in the Australian Senate to overturn it and reinstate the legislation. This motion was defeated 32-30 by the majority Coalition members, despite Gary Humphries crossing the floor.
The ACT will now look to create a new act, similar to its Civil Unions Act called the "civil partnership" law. In a statement by Australian Capital Territory Attorney-General Simon Corbell: "It's still our intention to give the same level of recognition provided for in the Civil Unions Act,". See [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Walsh, Kerry-Anne. "Taking the liberty to tell us how we should live our lives" The Sun-Herald June 11 2006: page 31
- Humphries, David. "ACT vows to try again on same-sex union rights" The Sydney Morning HeraldJune 14 2006
