Bill Shorten Australia’s opposition leader will put a same-sex marriage Bill before the House of Representatives on Monday. Bill Shorten says the time has come for Parliament to debate marriage equality and that he finds it unacceptable current laws excluded some individuals. "I know this private members bill will not have the universal support of my colleagues," Shorten says. "It will challenge the deeply held personal beliefs of MPs and senators on both sides of politics. "This is why Labor members have the freedom to vote their conscience, a freedom Tony Abbott is currently denying his party." Shorten is the first leader of a major political party to introduce a marriage equality bill in Australia. Australian Marriage Equality hopes the bill provides the circuit breaker needed for the Coalition party room to deal with the issue and decide on a free vote. “The ball is now firmly in the Prime Minister’s court to allow the many members of the Coalition who support marriage equality to be able to vote for it, and play their part in this historic reform,” says Deputy National Director Ivan Hinton-Teoh. “Now is the time for reform, and an ever increasing majority of Australians want marriage equality delivered urgently.” Shorten’s move follows an announcement from the Australian Greens that their marriage equality legislation will be brought on for debate in the Senate on June 18 with a view to a vote on November 12.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 27th May 2015 - 9:55am