New South Wales now recognises the marriages of same-sex couples who wed overseas. The changes to the Australian state’s Relationships Register were driven by marriage equality campaigner turned MP Alex Greenwich, with the support of the NSW Government. It means marriages which happened overseas will be legally recognised in the state, something which doesn’t happen nationwide due to Australia’s Federal Marriage Act. Australian Marriage Equality’s acting director Ivan Hinton-Teoh says gay Australians are travelling to a growing number of countries to get married. "In the absence of federal reform, NSW now provides legal recognition for these overseas marriages and, in doing so, has highlighted the importance of this reform for all Australians. "We call on the Federal Government to recognise the commitments that are made by Australians overseas. As we legally recognise foreign commercial contracts it should go without saying that we should also recognise these enduring, lifelong commitments."In the first year of marriage equality in New Zealand, 237 Australian couples crossed the Tasman to marry.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 14th November 2014 - 8:08am