今日吃瓜

The 2011 National Labor Women’s Conference has passed a resolution in support of marriage equality.

The motion read, 鈥淭hat this National Labor Women鈥檚 Conference calls upon the Australian Labor Party, through both the National Conference and Federal Labor Party, to continue its commitment to the principles expressed in ss. 137 – 141 of Chapter 7 of the 2009 National Platform by amending both the National Platform and the Marriage Act (Cth) 1961 to allow for equal access to civil marriages, regardless of the gender of either partner.鈥�

Australian Marriage Equality (AME) national convener, Alex Greenwich, welcomed the resolution.

“Marriage equality is about choice, fairness, and equality. These are all values Labor Women have advocated for decades”, Greenwich said.

“This resolution will not only add volume to the call for marriage equality at the ALP National Conference, it will remind delegates that this issue goes to the heart of Labor values.”

The resolution, which was passed at the conference in Brisbane last weekend, will go to the Labor Party’s National Policy Committee for consideration during the ALP National Conference in December.

The news comes on the same day as ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, became the latest state Labor leader to publicly endorse marriage equality

Gallagher told The Australian newspaper that, while she isn鈥檛 married she understands that, unlike gay and lesbian Australians, she has the option.

鈥淚 have a choice, you see. I鈥檝e not needed to do that for my happiness, but I understand there is a group in the community of people who want to exercise their choices,鈥� she said.

Gallagher joins a majority of ALP state and territory leaders who support marriage equality, including Victorian state leader Daniel Andrews, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings, and NSW ALP leader John Robertson.