Below: On May 14, 2012, Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, and leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Penny Wong, answered an audience member’s question on same-sex marriage during the ABC’s current affairs discussion program Q & A. Their responses revealed their differing positions.
Below: On June 29, 2015, BuzzFeedYellow posted the responses of a number of Australian children to the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court to legalise same-sex marriage.
Below:On May 23, 2015 the BBC ran a report on the successful referendum conducted in the Republic of Ireland to legalise civil unions for same-sex couples.
Below: On October 22, 2013, 3AW interviewed the Prime Minister Tony Abbott explaining his opposition to same-sex marriage, despite his sister being in a long-term same-sex relationship.
Web links, documents
On July 26, 2015, the ABC News carried a report titled 'Labor Party agrees to maintain conscience vote on same-sex marriage for next two terms of government'
The report dealt with the most recent decision of the Labor Party not to require its parliamentary members to support same-sex marriage. The Party will continue to allow a conscience vote till 2019.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-26/labor-party-national-conference-same-sex-marriage-vote/6648834
On July 2, 2015, ABC Radio's AM program featured an interview with the government's leader in the Senate, Eric Abetz. In the interview Senator Abetz explained his objections to legalising same sex marriage, suggesting it was out of line with the practice of our Asian neighbours.
The full text of this interview can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4265941.htm
On June 27, 2015, United States Quartz magazine published an article titled 'The science is clear: Children raised by same-sex parents are at no disadvantage".
The article surveys the findings of years of research which indicates that children are not disadvantaged by being reared by same-sex couples.
The full text can be accessed at http://qz.com/438469/the-science-is-clear-children-raised-by-same-sex-parents-are-at-no-disadvantage/
On June 16, 2015, The Advocate published a report titled 'Pope Francis: heterosexual parents best for children.'
The report is an account of a sermon given by the pontiff on June 14, 2015, in which he praised the positive qualities of heterosexual marriage, especially as an environment within which to rear children.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2015/06/16/pope-francis-heterosexual-parents-best-children
On May 25, 2015, the ABC's opinion site, The Drum, published a comment by homosexual activist Rodney Croome titled 'Australia just fell further behind on gay marriage - which should give us hope'
The piece attempts to explain why more conservative countries have been among the first to legalise same-sex marriage.
Croome is the national director of Australian Marriage Equality.
The full text of this comment can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-25/croome-gay-marriage-ireland-australia/6494862
A public information statement produced in 2015 by the Australian Christian Lobby titled 'Timeless: marriage and public policy' details the ACL's defence of heterosexual marriage as the sole form of marriage legally sanctioned in Australia.
The full text of this document can be accessed at http://www.acl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Marriage-Brief-single-pages.pdf
On April 1, 2015, The Sunshine Coast Daily published an opinion piece by Wendy Francis titled 'Rights of children should rule the same-sex debate'.
Francis argues that heterosexual couples provide the best environment in which to raise children.
Francis is the Queensland State Director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/rights-of-children-should-rule-the-same-sex-debate/2593468/
The Internet site of the Australian Government's Attorney General's Department outlines the administrative reforms undertaken to ensure same-sex couples are not discriminated against in terms of their access to government entitlements.
These statements can be accessed at https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/Samesexreforms.aspx
The Internet site of the Australian Government's Department of Social Services lists a range of entitlements that some same-sex couples can access in the same way as heterosexual couples.
This information can be found at https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programs-services/recognition-of-same-sex-relationships
In December 2013, the Australian Institute of Family Studies released a research paper titled 'Same-sex parented families in Australia'.
The paper surveys a range of research into the effects on children of being reared within same-sex families. It concludes that the effects overall are either beneficial or at least as positive as those experienced by children in heterosexual households.
The full text can be found at https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/same-sex-parented-families-australia
In September 2012, the Australian Human Rights Commission issues a position paper on marriage equality titled 'Marriage equality in a changing world'.
The position paper argues that the rite to civil marriage should be available to those in same-sex partnerships.
The full text of this paper can be accessed at https://www.humanrights.gov.au/lesbian-gay-bisexual-trans-and-intersex-equality-0
On June 11, 2011, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report by Leesha McKenny titled 'Same-sex marriage could lead to polygamy, says Jensen'
The report details a number of the objections made by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, to the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Jensen suggests that such a legislative change could lead to those in either polygamous or incestuous relationships seeking similar treatment.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.smh.com .au/national/samesex-marriage-could-lead-to-polygamy-says-jensen-20110610-1fx29.html
