In aftermath of landmark vote on same-sex marriage, Australian parliament could pass laws within weeks
If the legislation passes as expected, Australia will become the 26th nation to legalise same-sex marriage
Australian lawmakers on Thursday vowed to push through laws legalising same-sex marriage by early December, after a national survey found the majority of Australians favoured the move.
Both Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal-National coalition government and the main opposition Labor Party said they were aiming to pass the law through parliament by December 7.
That timeline was even earlier than the Christmas deadline named by Turnbull on Wednesday after the country’s statistics agency reported that 61.6 per cent of voters surveyed favoured marriage equality, with 38.4 per cent against.
Legislation was rushed into the national parliament’s upper house Senate late on Wednesday, even as colourful celebrations in the major cities continued and congratulations rolled in from international supporters.
If the legislation passes as expected, Australia will become the 26th nation to legalise same-sex marriage, a watershed for a country where it was still illegal in some states to engage in homosexual activity until 1997.
They’ll move amendments and some of them will be accepted. We’re cracking on with it
The legislation faces some opposition from conservative lawmakers in the coalition, who have pledged to introduce amendments to protect religious freedom that would allow discrimination against same-sex couples.