Whitney and Mara A thrilled Australian and Italian couple have just emerged from the Auckland registry office, having changed their Civil Union status to become a married couple. Whitney from Sydney and Mara from Italy had previously had a relationship registration in Sydney, followed by a Civil Union ceremony in New Plymouth. Same-sex marriage is not yet available in Australia although it is being hotly debated. New Zealand is only the 13th country in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalise the marriage of same-sex couples. Mara told our GayNZ.com Daily News reporter at the Registry Office that it is a good feeling that gay people no longer need to hide their identity and expression of love for each other, and it is a good opportunity for gay people to be recognised legally. And both of the women agreed that New Zealand has been a pioneer for this sort of social engineering and an agent of change. The couple is not having any ceremony or wedding reception because they already had one in Sydney when they had their relationship registered. To change relationship status from Civil Union to marriage the couple will have to have their marriage solemnised in the same way as for couples who have not previously been united. This will take place on September 13th at the Auckland registry.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 19th August 2013 - 10:12am