Liberal
backbenchers are pushing for
Australia to follow Britain's lead
and recognise civil unions for gay
men and lesbians.
The move
is in defiance of John Howard, who
has ruled out such a scheme.
The
campaign is being led by Warren
Entsch, who has the backing of Mal
Washer, Judi Moylan and Petro
Georgiou, among others. They argue
that Australia is being "left
behind" by refusing to legally
recognise homosexual relationships.
Mr
Entsch, who broke ranks with the
Government during last year's
election campaign to oppose a ban on
gay marriage, said he had been
lobbying senior ministers.
Following the wedding of singer
Elton John and his longtime gay
lover, the Prime Minister said on
Thursday that he opposed gay unions
and believed marriage could only
exist between a man and a woman.
Mr
Entsch, whose north Queensland
electorate is a centre for "pink"
tourism, said he had organised
meetings between the gay community
and ministers before the
parliamentary break.
"I am
fiercely heterosexual ... but having
said that I have some dear
(homosexual) friends that have been
in relationships a lot longer than I
have and are unconditionally
committed and I would be a hypocrite
if I said those people have less of
an entitlement than I would," Mr
Entsch said.
Ms
Moylan said the issue was one the
Government would have to address in
the new year.
"It's
a matter of fair and equitable
treatment of people," she said. "I
think a civil union is preferable,
and I think it's good for people to
make a commitment to the
relationship."
Ms
Moylan said the world was changing
and Australia needed to keep pace.
"There are many people with sons and
daughters in gay relationships in
Australia and for most of those
families they would rather them get
into a formal commitment to a formal
relationship with all the legal
entitlements that should go with
that," she said.
Mr
Washer said that while he believed
marriage should be reserved for
heterosexuals, civil unions should
be established for same-sex couples.
Mr
Georgiou said gay men and lesbians
deserved recognition. "People in
relationships should be treated
equally regardless of gender," he
said.
Gay
men and lesbians have de facto
status only at state level, varying
according to where they live. Under
a civil union scheme, they would
have the same rights as married
couples.
The
Australian Bureau of Statistics
concludes that the number of
same-sex-couple households had
doubled in five years, from 10,000
in 1996 to 20,000 in 2001,
reflecting an increasing inclination
among homosexual couples to declare
their status.
A
spokesman for federal Opposition
Leader Kim Beazley said Labor was
opposed to gay and lesbian marriage.
