Additional Comments from Senator Collins and Senator Bilyk

1.1        The community remains divided on this issue with differing and strongly held views expressed to the committee. Labor senators have a conscience vote on this issue.

1.2        This Bill would create a fundamental inconsistency in the legal treatment of same sex couples depending on their financial or physical capacity to travel overseas to marry.

1.3        In its submission, the Law Council of Australia noted that the Bill if passed:

...would create a situation in which same sex couples who are able to travel overseas and marry can have their marriages recognised in Australia, while others may not be able to do so, due to the expense involved or other factors such as disability or age.[1]

1.4        There have already been a number of attempts to re-define the definition of marriage in Australia. Last year the Senate rejected the Marriage Act Amendment (Recognition of Foreign Marriage for Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2013 which contained very similar provisions to the Bill the subject of this inquiry.

1.5        As noted at paragraph 2.6 of the majority report, this inquiry has not produced any new evidence on the issue of same-sex marriage. The situation has remained the same since the last time this issue was considered by the Senate.

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