Decades of social activism and hundreds of hours of parliamentary debate are finally behind us.
Tears and cheers loud enough to affect the media microphones erupted in parliament as the overwhelming vote was recorded.
Greens MP Adam Bandt introduced a marriage equality bill five years ago. Photo by abc news- Matt Roberts
There was no count of the votes for because names are not recorded when there are less than five opposed to a bill.
Though there was little doubt that marriage equality would be passed into law, there was a great deal of concern regarding the amendments that would try to slip social discrimination back into it.
We needn’t have worried, with all pushes for amendments made by opponents failing spectacularly.
The Smith Bill in its unamended form will allow marriage celebrants to perform a marriage between any two consenting adults. Despite efforts to amend against this from Greens MP Adam Bandt, the legislation provides exemptions for religious ministers, and celebrants on the basis they register as ‘religious’, to refuse to marry couples.
Liberal senator Dean Smith, told the ABC, the passage of marriage equality was “a measure of what can be done when people put some of their partisan politics behind.”
The legislation was signed in by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove today and is scheduled to be in effect from Saturday, December 9th.
This means that couples who have already married overseas will officially be recognised in Australia from tomorrow, and Notice for Intended Marriage forms can be filed, allowing the first marriages to occur in a month, and we’ll expect these two to be some of the first
