Civil Partnerships in ACT by September

Speaking on Joy 94.9's Rainbow Report last night, ACT Chief Minister John Stanhope affirmed that his government will enact it's Civil Partnerships Bill, including public ceremonies, with or without federal government approval.
Stanhope said he would continue to negotiate with the federal government, but with an election due in October, time was short.
If Commonwealth approval was not forthcoming in time, he would go ahead without it. The Rudd government would then have to decide whether to follow the precedent set by John Howard and strike the legislation down.
We have a mandate, Stanhope said, stressing that he personally had campaigned on the issue, and was determined to keep his promise

More details later