Australia's
marriage
equality
advocates
have
applauded
a
decision
by
the
Australian
Bureau
of
Statistics (ABS)
to
count same-sex
marriages in
the
next
national
Census
due
on 9
August
2011.
Paul
Lowe,
Head
of
the
ABS
Population
Census
Branch,
announced
in
an
email
to
Australian
Marriage
Equality
(AME)
that
"the
count
of
people
in
same-sex
relationships
who
tick
the
'husband
or
wife
of
person
1'
box
at
question
5
will
be
made
available
as a
part
of
the
standard
output
from
the
2011
Census".
Australian
Marriage
Equality
(AME)
national
convener,
Peter
Furness,
welcomed
the
decision,
which
will
count
the
number
of married
same-sex
couples
living
together even
though
such
marriages are
denied
recognition
under
Australian
law
following
amendments to
the
Marriage
Act in
2004.
"As
government
agencies
like
the
ABS
begin
to
recognise
the
reality
that
some
same-sex
partners
are
married,
the
Rudd
Government's
opposition
to
recognising
same-sex
marriage
looks
increasingly
outdated",
said
Mr
Furness.
"The
Rudd
Government
may
choose
to
bury
its
head
in
the
sand
and
pretend
same-sex
marriages
don't
exist,
but
clearly
the
ABS will
not."
AME
has
been
lobbying
for
several
years
to
have the
ABS
find
a
way
to
count
same-sex
marriages in
the
Census.
In
addition, the
ABS
has also
committed
to
producing
a
2011
Census
analysis
report
on
same-sex
couples
who
have
indicated
they
are
married
along
the
lines
of a
similar
report
produced
by
Statistics
Canada
following
the
2006
Canadian
Census.
(see
http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/docs/FamilyCensus2006.pdf)
AME
will
actively
encourage
same-sex
couples
to
participate
in
the
2011
Census.
"Same-sex
couples
can
now
be
confident
that
their
marriages
will
be
counted",
said
Mr
Furness.
"An
increasing
number
of
Australian
institutions,
organisations
and
corporations,
with
the
exception
of
the
federal
government,
now
recognise
same-sex
marriages.
Step
by
step,
we
are
chipping
away
at
this
final
barrier
to
equality."
"It
is
time
Kevin
Rudd
was
forced
to
properly
explain
his
government's
denial
of
this
basic
human
right
to
so
many
of
his
fellow
Australians."
