The Greens have just announced the introduction of a West Australian Marriage Equality Bill for 2012. The bill will move to legalise same-sex marriage, it will also establish a registration system, enable annulment and dissolution for same-sex married couples, as well as authorising celebrants.
Fronting the bill in parliament, Lynn MacLaren, member for the South Metropolitan Region, stated ‘All eyes are on Canberra now, but out Bill stands ready in the wings so that Western Australia can enjoy marriage equality alongside residents in Tasmania and the other state who have already signalled their support for gay marriage’.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is also presenting the bill; she spoke about the importance of passing the proposed bill –
‘Ultimately we want to see an Australia where people have the right for their relationships to be recognised on an official level, regardless of their sexuality’.
The greens and both a national and state level are working to achieve marriage equality, MacLaren spoke of how it is WA’s turn to stand up –
‘It is important for state governments to do all that they can to bring around this essential change. With the City of Perth’s Pride Festival around the corner, it is timely to take one more step towards full equality.
‘If all efforts at a federal level fail because Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard refuse to get out of the way of reform the majority of Australians support, then I wanted to provide the opportunity at the state level to make gay marriage happen’, she said.
Maclaren spoke directly to OUTinPerth shortly after, stating – ‘It feels really good to achieve this milestone, to finally introduce this bill. It’s a little step, but it’s major’.
Nadine Walker
