Unfortunately, it now seems that the Australian Capital Territory’s ALP Government has been forced to back down on its plan to introduce Anglo-New Zealand style civil unions to the ACT, due to federal pressure.

The Stanhope administration is angry at this move.

“We are angry, disappointed and frustrated with the approach of our federal colleagues,” [ACT Attorney General Simon] Corbell told reporters yesterday.

“I am sorry that the Federal Government has taken such a limited and … contradictory view of providing for equality before the law for gay and lesbian people.”

He added: “You can’t provide for equality in some areas and say that discrimination exists and yet continue with a hypocritical position on other … matters,”

He also accused the Commonwealth of exercising “undemocratic, 19th century colonial-style” powers in threatening to veto the bill. “We are once again being patronised by our federal counterparts.”

Corbell added that  the office of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was “centrally involved” in negotiations with the Stanhope Government over their relationship equality legislation. He  accused the Australian Christian Right of pressuring the federal ALP into this stance.

The Territory government was threatened with a further federal veto if they proceeded with civil unions,  or else amending it to provide lesbian and gay couples greater legal recognition through a registered partnership scheme, similar to that which exists in Tasmania However, the ACT would fund legally unrecognised ceremonies for lesbian and gay couples that signed up to ACT registered partnerships, if they so chose.

However, registered partnerships  would make it easier for gay couples to make use of Commonwealth reforms in superannuation, taxation and social security laws.

The amended registered partnerships bill will be debated in the ACT this week.

As for ACT’s LGBT communities, their Campaign for Civil Unions had this to say:

[CCU’s] Rebecca Leighton, said the move was a serious blow.

“We’re appalled that the ACT Government has been put in a position of dropping the bill. The (ACT’s) Stanhope Government was elected in 2004 on a platform of introducing civil unions legislation,” she said.

“We feel the gay and lesbian community deserves better than being told our relationships are second class.”

Unrepentant, the Rudd administration’s federal Attorney General Robert McClelland said that the federal government had earlier signalled to the Australian Capital Territory that registered partnerships was its preferred option for LGBT relationship recognition.

As for the Australian Christian Lobby, their equivalent to our Maxim Institute, spokesperson Jim Wallace had this to say:

“I think they will receive the appreciation of the great majority of the Christian constituency and the churches,” 

Yeah, right. When they’re not whingeing about stem cell research, decriminalisation of abortion access, safe injecting rooms as HIV/AIDS prevention, medicinal cannabis and the Rudd administration’s forthcoming substantive federal LGBT relationship reforms, that is.

Recommended:

Sarah Smiles: “Federal veto forces ACT backdown on gay unions” Melbourne Age: 05.05.08: http://www.theage.com.au