n a historic and jubilant moment for Australian politics the bill to legalise same-sex marriage has passed the Senate today, without amendment, with 43 senators voting yes and 12 voting no.Many senators have described today as the proudest in their parliamentary careers.The bill will face its final hurdle in the House of Representatives next week when MPs resume the … [Read more...]
Escalation, Vilification, Discrimination: Marriage Equality Debate Must Be Lawful
n the light of escalating tensions between the "yes" and "no" campaigns, both the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten, have reiterated that the marriage equality debate should be civil, respectful and, importantly, lawful.Last week, emergency laws under the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Bill 2017 to ban vilification, … [Read more...]
Council Of The Law Society Of NSW Supports Respectful Debate On Same-Sex Marriage
n 17 August, the Council of the Law Society of NSW issued a joint statement supporting laws to enable same-sex marriage.Today, the Council of the Law Society of NSW has acknowledged that there is a diversity of opinion within the profession and the Council on the topic of same-sex marriage and respects those opinions.This comes after Law Society of NSW President, … [Read more...]
Bucket Intell-O-gence: Untangling The Postal Plebiscite Debacle
he wheels of government have churned out a postal plebiscite as the answer to the same-sex marriage (SSM) debate. For people like me who have become tired of the hackneyed slippery slope arguments being trotted out by those who oppose SSM, this was initially welcome news.Dig a little deeper though, and you’ll realise as I did that a postal plebiscite is just … [Read more...]
NSW Legal & Medical Professionals Unite To Support Marriage Equality Laws
he President of the New South Wales Bar Association Arthur Moses SC, the President of The Law Society of NSW Pauline Wright and the President of the Australian Medical Association (NSW) Professor Brad Frankum have come together to express their support for same-sex marriage legislation at the federal level.Our organisations support the introduction of marriage … [Read more...]
Same-Sex Postal Plebiscite: Where The Circus Is Headed From Here
uestion: When does a postal vote on same-sex marriage become a substitute for a legislated plebiscite?Answer: When the federal government fails for the second time to get its Bill for same-sex marriage passed through the Senate.If you’ve been paying attention to the same-sex marriage issue, you will know the Senate rejected yesterday, Wednesday, 9 August 2017, the … [Read more...]
#LegalNews: Taiwan First Asian Country To Rule In Favour Of Same-Sex Marriage
A panel of 14 of Taiwan's top judges have ruled in favour of same-sex marriage.In a recent ruling, Taiwan's highest court decided that current laws preventing same-sex unions were unconstitutional and violated rights to equality.Contrary to many misleading reports circulating the internet, laws that legalise gay marriage in Taiwan have not come into force yet. The … [Read more...]
Bucket Intell-O-gence: Everything You Need To Know About The Same-Sex Marriage Plebiscite
As the 45th Federal Parliament gets underway, the legalisation of same-sex marriage is one of the issues dominating headlines.It is hard to know how the matter will play out, but there is one option that was first raised by the Abbott government - and that is to hold a plebiscite. This option is being pushed by the Turnbull government, and it has attracted a lot of … [Read more...]