by Tracy Gordon
The Marriage Amendment Bill 2004 was passed in the Senate on 13 August by a vote of 38 to six, nine days after the Great Hall at Canberra’s Parliament House overflowed with more than 1000 Christians, politicians, academics and concerned community members who gathered to express their support for ‘traditional’ marriage.
The Bill, which amends the 1961 Marriage Act to explicitly state that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life, was supported by both major parties.
The National Marriage Forum – an initiative of the Fatherhood Foundation, the Australian Christian Lobby and the Australian Family Association – and included a line-up of speakers who called for the uniqueness of marriage to be preserved. It aimed to clear up confusion regarding party policy about marriage, and to allow the parties to communicate their point directly to representatives from many denominations across Australia.
Sydney University family law professor Patrick Parkinson commented that from a legal perspective, different relationships have been treated in the same way for a long time. Although it is sometimes permissible to treat marriage and other relationships in the same way, he said the uniqueness of marriage is being lost.
Professor Tom Altobelli of UWS said unlike some other types of relationships, marriage is not an evolving institution: it remains substantially the same as humanity’s earliest records of it.
With significant research opposing the argument that homosexuality is biologically predetermined, Dr David van Gend, family doctor and academic, argued that the Bill does not discriminate against homosexuals, as it has been accused of.
However, several speakers agreed with the pro-gay critique that heterosexual marriages are often the worst advertisements for the uniqueness of marriage. Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson said: “Our frailties should never obscure the ideal.”
Director of Sydney Diocese’s Social Issues Executive Dr Andrew Cameron said Christians have a responsibility to stand up for marriage. “[It] will [not] suffice to imagine that ‘someone else’ can do the hard business of political engagement,” he said.
