15th February, 2007
GLYNIS QUINLAN

Divorce, child abuse, pornography, unemployment, long working hours, de-facto relationships, gay unions, financial pressures, domestic violence - what do all these things have in common?

They are all factors which can undermine the institution of marriage and the family. And, as such, they can also damage the very building blocks on which a healthy community is based.

PROTECTING MARRIAGE: Glynis Quinlan says the institution of marriage received a boost thanks to a 2004 amendment to the Marriage Act but that the battle to protect the sanctity of marriage has continued since. PICTURE: Sanja Gjenero (www.sxc.hu) "It was a turning point when the Government, with the support of the Labor Opposition, effectively said that marriage is important and we want to stand up for it."

Another thing that they have in common is that they are often issues which come under the political spotlight - whether for good or bad. This has definitely been the case in recent years.

In August 2004, marriage was put under that spotlight in a positive way, when the Federal Government legislated to amend the Marriage Act to define marriage as the "union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life". This thwarted attempts to allow gay marriage in Australia.

A Senate Inquiry, which preceded the passing of the legislation, received over 16,000 submissions and the vast majority were from Christians. (A Senate Inquiry normally receives only around 1000 submissions on a given subject).

“The Government believes marriage is a central and fundamental institution in our society and provides the best environment for the raising of children,” said Attorney-General Philip Ruddock at the time.

All in all, it was a wonderful win for the sanctity of marriage, and something which the Australian Christian Lobby pushed heavily for at the time.

No, this win didn’t bring an end to all the attacks on the institution of marriage in modern society. However, it was a turning point when the Government, with the support of the Labor Opposition, effectively said that marriage is important and we want to stand up for it.

If only that issue had been left there! Twice in recent times, the Australian Capital Territory Government - encouraged by the gay lobby - has tried to have same-sex ‘unions’ or ‘partnerships’ legislated for in a way which would effectively see them mimicking marriage.

The ACT Government’s Civil Unions Act was passed in May last year despite strong opposition from Christians. The Australian Christian Lobby then called on the Federal Government to use its constitutional power to overturn the Territory legislation because it contravened federal laws on marriage. In June the Federal Government decided to act to protect marriage and did overturn the ACT law.

One might have thought that the issue would then be over, but the ACT Stanhope Government was determined not to let the matter rest - even though it was of direct interest to only a tiny part of its constituency and the ACT had far more significant issues to deal with, such as a big school closures program which was impacting wide sections of the Canberra community. This highlights the strength of particular lobby groups in Australia and how important it is that the Christian voice be heard too.

So what did the ACT Government do next? Last December, only six months after the Civil Unions Act was overturned, they introduced new legislation - this time entitled the Civil Partnerships Bill.

Just as with the Civil Unions Act, this Bill would have enabled gay marriage in all but name. Although some changes had been made and the language was toned down, civil partnerships would still have been able to begin with a marriage-mimicking ceremony that could be used by activists to present this lifestyle as having equal government endorsement.

But, thankfully, that was not end of the story. On 6th February this year, Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock moved to disallow the Civil Partnerships Bill in its current form. He said that, despite some changes to the previous legislation, it remained the Government’s opinion the Bill would be likely to undermine the institution of marriage.

It was another win for marriage and a decision that was strongly welcomed by the Australian Christian Lobby and other Christian groups.

“Marriage should be promoted for its proven benefits to society and the natural benefits it provides for children, not undermined as the Stanhope Government has been continually seeking to do,” Australian Christian Lobby managing director, Jim Wallace, said.

“We are not opposed to the removal of unjust discrimination for homosexuals where it exists, but all practical discrimination against same-sex couples has already been removed in the ACT. Mr Stanhope is simply pursuing an unpopular social engineering crusade.”

Will the matter end here? No one can know for sure, but the ACT Government and gay lobby groups seem determined that it won’t. The issue is also obviously not confined to the ACT.

Have Christians been able to influence the outcome to date? Yes, there can be no doubt that the Christian voice has had an impact on this issue and that God has been at work. From the 1,600 petitioners who opposed the original Civil Unions Act, to those who wrote letters to the editors of major newspapers, to those who regularly prayed, to the holding of a Marriage Forum in Canberra in 2004, to the many discussions that have taken place with political representatives on this issue - it has all made a difference!

It’s important to differentiate here that the aim in all this hasn’t been to attack homosexuals or to deny people basic rights. Instead the aim has been to challenge something that would have mimicked marriage and thereby would have watered down the importance of marriage in our society.

It is just one issue out of many on the political agenda. There are many instances where Christians have the opportunity to be pro-active in promoting Christian values, as well as re-active in defending them. The important point for all Christians is to make their voice heard.

Glynis Quinlan is the public relations manager for the Australian Christian Lobby.