There will be no change in Australia’s policy of attempting to block its
gay citizens from getting married in other countries, the government said
in late July.
Australia will continue to withhold the “Certificates of Non-Impediment to
Marriage” that sometimes are needed before foreigners are allowed to marry
in other nations.
In an Aug. 2 media release, the group Australian Marriage Equality called
the policy “mean-spirited” and said AME is contemplating a challenge
before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
“As if it’s not bad enough that the government’s ban on same-sex marriages
forces hundreds of Australians to marry overseas every year, often at
great expense and without their families and friends present, the
government still wants to reach around the world in an effort to stop
these Australians marrying,” said AME convener Alex Greenwich.
By Rex Wockner
