ABC weighs in on ACT marriage bill challenge
ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell (pictured) has announced the debate on the territory’s marriage equality bill will take place next Tuesday, even as the ABC’s Fact Check expressed doubt the bill would survive a High Court challenge.
Corbell made the announcement via Twitter, inviting members of the public to come and watch from the gallery in the Legislative Assembly.
Earlier this week ABC Fact Check weighed in on the likelihood of the ACT legislation surviving the federal government’s recently confirmed High Court challenge, arguing the challenge is likely to be successful.
Fact Check consulted a number of legal experts to reach their conclusion, conceding there was some disagreement on whether the federal Marriage Act encompassed all theoretical marriages or just those between a man and a woman.
One legal expert cited, Patrick Parkinson from the University of Sydney, went as far as to say the ACT bill is the least likely of any current state-based marriage equality bills to survive a High Court challenge.
Another legal expert, George Williams from the University of New South Wales, suggested the ACT bill would be more likely to survive if re-drafted along the lines of the proposed bills in Tasmania and New South Wales.
