News in brief

News in brief

A victory in the battle for same sex marriage in New South Wales

Under new State legislation, NSW will now recognise the legitimacy of homosexual marriages that take place overseas.

The change to the Relationships Register Amendment (Recognition of Same-sex and Gender-diverse Relationships) Bill 2014 was put forward by the Independent Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich.

He believed it was an unfair situation where spouses would have to deny their own marriage.

“Under these changes, same sex couples who marry overseas will be able to reflect their marital status on relevant forms and will no longer have to declare that they are not married.  The eligibility section of the guide for couples will also be updated to clarify that same sex couples who marry overseas are eligible to register their relationship,” Mr Greenwich said.

Despite getting the amendment through, Mr Greenwhich still believes there is a lot more to do.

“This change acknowledges that a growing number of NSW citizens must travel overseas to marry the person they love, while waiting for the Federal Government to legislate for marriage equality,” he said.

“Fortunately the NSW Relationship Register will now ensure these marriages receive a level of protection and recognition in NSW, and I thank the Attorney-General for working with me towards this outcome.”

Queensland and Tasmania already have similar laws in place and pressure is building on the rest of the country to do the same.

“The inaction of federal governments, past and present, on marriage equality remains an embarrassing blight on our nation’s reputation for fairness, freedom and equality.”

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