AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER Bill Shorten has just tweeted that he plans to present a private member’s bill next week which will allow for a debate on gay marriage.
Shorten, who congratulated Ireland at the weekend following the Yes vote in the marriage referendum said:
The Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has said that they will not be holding a referendum on gay marriage, and that any such decision is a matter for parliament rather than a public poll.
Civil unions are allowed in Australia but gay marriage was outlawed in the the country in 2004. Abbott’s conservative government is opposed to gay marriage although polls suggest that popular support for a change in the National Marriage Act is high.
Bill Shorten has said that he believes the “time has well and truly come for the Parliament to debate marriage equality”.
Ireland’s Yes vote at the weekend prompted significant coverage and debate in the Australian media about what the result might mean for marriage equality in the country.
