New Year rush to get married

Come 9 January 2018, gay couples in Australia will start rushing to get married. Though the same-sex marriage law in Australia became effective with the Governor-General giving his assent on Saturday 9 December, the Bill passed by Parliament two days earlier has a provision that commencement will be on “a single day to be fixed by proclamation” or 28 days after Royal Assent.

“I assent to this Act ... the Act now passes into Australian law,” Governor-General Sir Cosgrove said as he signed a copy of the bill at his official residence in Canberra. 

According to the new Act couples need to lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage one month before their ceremonies. They can start doing it now.

As a gesture of goodwill, Sydney’s Inner West Council has announced that it is officially accepting bookings for same-sex marriages in its town halls, community centres and parks — and they will be held for free for 100 days from 7 January. “We are proud that the Inner West delivered the highest turn out in the postal survey of any area in NSW ... now we are aiming to become the same-sex marriage capital of Sydney,” says Council Mayor Darcy Byrne.

City of Sydney had passed a motion in October to offer free venues for same-sex weddings should the legislation pass federal parliament. 

Australia becomes the 26th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Starting with The Netherlands in 2000, year 2017 saw three countries – Germany, Malta and Australia – passing legislation on marriage equality.

Couples who got married overseas now have their unions automatically recognised under Australia law.

Another change that will take effect 12 months later will make it discriminatory for states and territories to stop people from changing their gender on official documentation. Previously government authorities could refuse to change the gender on someone’s birth certificate or other documentation if they were already married and the change would result in them being married to someone of the same sex.

It was a landslide vote in Australia’s Federal Parliament to legalise same-sex marriage with only four members of 150-seat parliament opposing. A handful of MPs – including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Scott Morrison – chose to abstain. 

The public had earlier voted for the change showing overwhelming support for marriage equality.

“Australia has done it. What a day for love, for equality, for respect,” declared a jubilant Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who punched the air as he called it “a historic day for the nation”, at the end of the voting in Parliament. “This belongs to us all. This is Australia – fair, diverse, loving and filled with respect for every one of us. This has been a great, unifying day in our history.”

The first to declare his intentions was a parliamentarian. Tom Wilson asked his partner, Ryan Bolger, to marry him while participating in the debate in the House of Representatives. He said it was the first time that a politician had proposed from the floor of the governing body. Bolger said ‘yes’. 

Countries where same-sex marriage is legal are: The Netherlands (2000) Belgium (2003), Canada/Spain (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2008), Sweden (2009), Iceland, Portugal/Argentina (2010), Denmark (2012), Uruguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil/England & Wales (2013), Scotland/Luxembourg (2014), Finland, Ireland, Greenland/United States (2015), Colombia (2016), and Germany, Malta/Australia (2017).