NSW Same-Sex Marriage Bill Defeated in Upper House
Friday 15 November 2013 @ 9.44 a.m. | Legal Research
Members of Parliament in the upper house of NSW have voted 21 to 19 against a bill to legalise same-sex marriage.
There had been initial hopes the upper house would pass the legislation. However, independent MP Alex Greenwich, a member of the cross-party working group who devised the bill, said he was encouraged by the closeness of the vote.
It was also the first time Liberal MPs had voted in favour of a same sex marriage bill in Australia, with Coalition members Catherine Cusack and Greg Pearce, and Nationals Sarah Mitchell and Trevor Khan, voting in support of the bill.
Christian Democratic Party MP Fred Nile labelled the outcome ''a great victory for marriage in the NSW upper house''. He said that Premier O'Farrell's recent announcement that he would vote against the bill was a decisive factor in its defeat.
Bruce Notley-Smith, the Liberal MP for Coogee and another cross-party group member in the lower house, said the prospect of change in the Federal Parliament was an important consideration for many MPs.
''Many members gave their reason for not voting in the upper house as [their belief] that marriage is a federal matter...I think there's also a feeling among members that there will be movement at a federal level. They feel the tide is turning in their favour."
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