Sweeping Gay Reforms Passed In W Australia
by Peter Hacker
365Gay.com Newscenter in Sydney

(December 12, Perth) The Legislative Assembly has passed the it's gay reform bill.  It must now go to the upper house, the legislative Council but it is not clear if it will become law before the end of the year.

Passage came early this morning after a marathon debate that lasted 16 hours and featured some of the most heated and homophobic rhetoric in Australian history.

The legislation strengthens job and housing protections for gays and lesbians, provides limited partnership benefits in wills and deciding hospital care, permits adoption and IVF treatment, and lowers the age of consent to 16 for gay sex.

Attempts by the opposition to weaken the bill failed.

Opposition leader, Colin Barnett, says his Liberal Party will go to the next election with a pro-family position which will be embraced by most Western Australians.

But, Attorney-General Jim McGinty says the Opposition has been left behind by contemporary views on equality and discrimination.

Polls show that the majority of people support the bill with the exception of the age provisions.  While 16 is the age of consent for heterosexual sex, most people polled said it is too young for homosexual sex.

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