Current Status of The Marriage Amendment Act
In the runup to the 2007 federal elections, there was speculation that the Labor Party might change or reverse the same-sex marriage ban provided by the Marriage Amendment Act 2004. The Labor Party appears to have ruled out changing the bill. On 21 March 2007, Labor MP Tanya Plibersek, herself married, told The Sydney Morning Herald, "Labor does not support changing the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage". On 10 August 2007 Kevin Rudd, later Prime Minister, as reported by the AM radio program said, "I have a pretty basic view on this, as reflected in the position adopted by our party, and that is, that marriage is between a man and a woman." Rudd repeated his opposition to same-sex marriage in an interview with radio host Kyle Sandilands on 23 October 2007, but is fully supportive of a national registry for both opposite-sex and same-sex partnerships.
In the run-up to the 2010 federal election, the Labor Party under new leader and prime minister Julia Gillard re-asserted their opposition to gay marriage. After the election, the Greens successes in the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving them balance of power in one house and a rare member in the other, has led them lobby for gay marriage. The PM Julia Gillard allowed a free vote on the issue in 2012 and it did not pass. She also reaffirmed her view opposing same-sex marriage.
Read more about this topic: Marriage Act 1961 (Australia), Marriage Amendment Act 2004
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