NSW has the power to legally recognise same-sex marriage and if it doesn’t happen at a federal level, state parliament should ensure people can marry who they love, the Greens say.
NSW Greens upper house MP Cate Faehrmann said legal advice indicated it was possible for state parliaments to pass legislation recognising same-sex marriage.
While the Greens will focus on getting the legislation passed at a federal level, Ms Faehrmann said that if that failed, she would introduce a private member’s bill on marriage equality in NSW.
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“If that doesn’t come to fruition (federally) and let’s hope it does … if that fails, I will be introducing marriage equality legislation into the state parliament,” she told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt was behind a successful motion last year asking MPs to canvass the issue of gay marriage with their local voters.
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Meanwhile,
The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed a compelling new television advert, jointly commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality and GetUp!, which is scheduled to be aired on the Sky News channel this evening to highlight the continuing injustice of marriage inequality for same-sex couples.
“I encourage Tasmanians to watch the advert and to write to their elected State and Federal representatives urging them to support marriage equality.”
“The Greens have tabled a cognate package of Bills in the Parliament on the issue of Same Sex Marriage, and we will be pursuing those Bills during the 2011 Parliamentary year,” said Mr McKim.
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