Queensland Heavied Into Line

Queensland Attorney General Kerry Shine has bowed to pressure from Kevin Rudd and announced he is developing a proposal for a same-sex (and other significant personal relationships) register to present to cabinet.
The state government had previously set it's face against any law change as unnecessary, but unless all the states introduce registers, Ruddy's plan for a network of state-based registers is untenable.
Sothe Sunshine State had to be heavied into line.
The big stumbling block is now New South Wales: it remains to be seen if Kevvies Heavies can screw a result out of the hapless Iemma 'would you buy a used power station from this man' government.

ACT caves in - 'nationally consistent' plan in tatters

After promising to pass a civil partnerships bill in the teeth of federal opposition, the ACT government made a humiliating climbdown today and agreed to pass the measure minus the public ceremonies that Robert McClelland insists, "mimic marriage."

Tasmanian activist Rodney Croome says Kevin Rudd may offer a national partnership registration scheme as a trade-off.

Some such move became essential last week when when West Australia joined New South Wales in refusing to enact a state registration scheme.

The position of the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia is not known, but sources suggest they too were poised to refuse to fall into line the the federal governments plan for a system of 'nationally consistent state-based registries.'

Since the existing registries in Tasmania and Victoria are not consistent neither with one other nor the now-emasculated ACT measure, that plan is now dead.

The government have still not produced a logical coherent justification for enacting a separate but unequal system of relationship recognition for same-sex couples.

Meanwhile the Greens will introduce a same-sex marriage bill into the upper house.