Leave us alone, please, Mr Howard...

OK, so we often give thanks that our government is not as convoluted as citizens of the United States have to put up with. But Lincoln, bless him, envisaged a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people”; not a bad way for government to be.

Surely that is something for all democracies to aspire to.

But that would seem to go WAY against our current government’s agenda. As Audrey fforbes-Hamilton famously pouted in “To the Manor Born” “democracy is all well and good, but did they have to give it to the people?”

Where am I going with this?

Some members of the Australian government have some pretty strong views on things. Rather right-wing ones at that. Stating the bleedin’ obvious, I know. But the latest thing that REALLY got my goat up this weekend was a piece on page 3 of this weekend’s ”Sydney Morning Herald” (A better / longer piece is also reported in ”the Melbourne Age”) regarding the Government’s interference in Australians' overseas marriage rights.

Most countries require some sort of proof that you aren’t currently married before issuing a marriage license. Kinda makes sense.

What DOESN’T make any sense is the following:

An Australian man, living in Austria, with an Austrian partner for 12 years, wanted to get married in the Netherlands. He applies to his local helpful consular department in Vienna to get a certificate saying that he ain’t already hitched in Australia.

Instead of that, he gets:

"Following the advice of the Australian Attorney-General's Department we herewith certify that Australian law does not allow the issue of a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage to persons wishing to enter into a same-sex marriage."

According to the Age report “A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said one purpose of the certificates was to certify a proposed marriage would be valid in Australia.”

What a load of bunkum.

As stated in that same article “Australian National University senior law lecturer Wayne Morgan said: "There is nothing in Australian law … that would prevent a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (being issued) in such circumstances.”
"This is an internationally accepted document that has nothing to do with the validity of the marriage back in the couple's own country."”


Thankfully, the Dutch are pragmatic, and with the above “certificate of unwillingness to issue a certificate of no impediment” and a stat dec, the happy couple were able to have their nuptials late last year.

It’s no news that this government (and I feel really good that I have so far observed my own editorial rule to NOT refer to any recognised government as a “regime”) doesn’t like the idea that same sex peoples should enjoy the same rights and obligations of opposite sex couples.

It’s also no news that this government stands up for the “sovereign right” of other nations to pass their own laws based on the moral mores of their own populations. And makes a point of not interfering too much. Take the cases of Corby in Indonesia, or Nguyen Toung Van in Singapore.

But it is ok to hassle Australian gays living in another juridisdiction where same sex marriage is legal by impeding their progress to matrimony.
Surely if the Howard government deplores us that much, it would make sense to encourage us all to get offshore other halves in gay friendly countries, and encourage us to stay there…

So far, according to “Google News” this story has only been picked up by the Age and the Herald, and 4 blogs.

Gay activist Rodney Croome, of the newly formed Australian Coalition for Equality, said: "It's simply mean-spirited and bloody-minded for the Australian Government to block Peter's access (to documents) on no other basis than the gender of his marriage partner.

I actually find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with you on this one Mr Croome. (Just keep the Red Cross out of this one please.)


I wonder if this will be the end of it… I hope not. However, with neither the Senate nor the House sitting again until February 7th, I doubt that we will actually get anything further out of this, unless some friendly Green or Democrat senators want to take it up.



This listing of Senators will take you to their homepages with their email addresses if you feel like asking them to try and get some clarification from the Attorney General.