Asia-Pacific News
Same-sex marriage a step closer in Australia
Dec 1, 2011, 1:58 GMT
Sydney Same-sex marriage became a step closer in Australia after Queensland State Parliament late Wednesday voted in favour of legalizing civil unions for gays and lesbians.
Queensland parliamentarians passed the measure by a vote of 47-40 with support from the Labor Party. Queensland is now the third of Australia's six states to allow same-sex civil unions.
The vote came as the issue was to be debated this weekend at the annual conference of the governing Labor Party.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is personally opposed to same-sex marriage but wants the party to allow its parliament members to have a conscience vote on the issue when it comes before them next year.
Labor Party supporters of same-sex marriage want it to become party policy that would bind all members to vote for it in parliament.
Openly lesbian Finance Minister Penny Wong, whose partner is pregnant, said in a newspaper column in The Age that equality in marriage should be party policy.
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