I don’t like this. Senator Guy Barnett (Lib., Tas.) seems very confident that the Federal Government will shortly move to overturn the ACT Civil Unions Act. In a recent media release Barnett claims that the ACT legislation institutes ‘marriage by another name’ and hence should be struck down.

I don’t think that Barnett would be so optimistic about his chances here if a certain senior someone hadn’t tipped him the wink:

I predict there will be amending of the Federal [Marriage Act] to defend the institution of marriage as the community knows it … If the Howard Government did nothing there would be nothing to stop every State and Territory in our nation from passing a law similar to the ACT legislation. Along with others I will be lobbying my Government to introduce laws to strengthen, uphold and protect marriage, for which the Australian Government has proper constitutional authority.

Elsewhere in his diatribe, Barnett asserts that ‘marriage is a rock solid institution’. Why, then, does it require so much protection?

Filed in: Politics, Sexuality