PhelpsKerrynDr., Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, former Australian Medical Association Director and her partner Jackie Striker, as well as Bronwyn Statham, Lecturer in Law, Griffith Law School, joined the authors in an original submission to Parliament on this issue.
2.
Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) s 5(1).
3.
(1866) LR 1 P & D 130.
4.
Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) ss 5(1) and 88B(4).
5.
McBain v State of Victoria [2000] FCA 1009; Re Kevin (Validity of Marriage of Transsexual) [2001] FamCA 1074.
6.
See, eg, Adoption Act 1988 (Tas) s 20 allowing adoption by married couples or those who have registered a deed of relationship under Part II of the Relationships Act 2003 (Tas).
7.
Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, Senate, 12 August 2004, 26504.
8.
Ibid, 26507–8.
9.
(1866) LR 1 P&D 130, 133.
10.
Parliamentary Debates, above n 7, 26555.
11.
See Attorney-General for NSW v Brewery Employees' Union of NSW (1908) 6 CLR 469, 610 (HiggensJ); Attorney-General (Vic) v Commonwealth (1962) 107 CLR 529,576–7 (WindeyerJ); and most recently Re Wakim; Ex parte McNally (1999) 198 CLR 511, 553 (per McHugh J who suggested explicitly that the Commonwealth had power to legislate for same-sex marriage).
12.
This is the effect of In the Marriage of C and D (falsely called C) (1979) 35 FLR 340 where Bell J held that the respondent's marriage was a nullity as the respondent was neither male nor female but rather a combination of both.
These Bills are styled the Civil Union Bill 2005 and the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill 2005, the former being substantive and the latter simply amending in omnibus form other legislative instruments for which the new form of union may be relevant.
17.
Communication No. 488/1992.
18.
DickeyAnthony, Family Law (4th ed, 2002) 147.
19.
Re McBain; Ex Parte Australian Catholic Bishops Conference; Re McBain; Ex Parte Attorney-General (Cth) ex rel Australian Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church [2002] HCA 16.
20.
[2003] Fam CA 94.
21.
Professor George Williams, an expert in Constitutional Law from the University of New South Wales has provided legal advice that the Bill and the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) are not inconsistent. See Tasmanian Greens ‘Fact Sheet’, April 2005 <http://tas.greens.org.au/publications/greenfacts/SAME_SEX_MARRIAGE_BILL_FACTSHEET.pdf> at 26 May 2005.
