South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (pictured) introduced a private member’s bill in Federal Parliament on June 24 which would grant same-sex couples equal marriage rights in Australia.

Along with the bill, Hanson-Young produced a 30,000-signature petition in support of legalising same-sex marriage.

“The Greens’ Marriage Equality Amendment Bill can bring Australia into the league of other forward-thinking nations who recognise that all couples should enjoy the right to marry,” Hanson-Young said in a statement.

Hanson-Young pointed to the latest Galaxy Poll showing 60 per cent of Australians favour gay marriage, and called the Rudd government’s stance - that the majority of Australians believe marriage should be confined to heterosexuals - “a lame excuse”. She said that equal marriage rights were “a glaring omission” from last year’s same-sex law reforms.

Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson Rodney Croome said he had seen a shift in opinions over the last couple of years.

“Backbenchers of both major parties are closer to public opinion than their party leaderships. They can see that public opinion is behind reform,” Croome told ACTGay.

“The next step is to wake the leadership of both parties up to current public opinion. Right now they are way behind the times and seem to be hostage to a very small minority. The latest polls show just how small that minority is.”

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