Category Archives: Marriage equality

Penny Wong wedding: Australian foreign minister weds long-time partner Sophie Allouache

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Couple married in Adelaide after nearly two decades together, with prime minister Anthony Albanese in attendance

Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong and Sophie Allouache have tied the knot after nearly two decades together.

The couple were married in Adelaide on Saturday in a ceremony attended by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and senior ministers.

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‘Party with purpose’: Sydney WorldPride kicks off with 500,000 expected to attend 300 events

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The city’s biggest ‘occasion’ since the 2000 Olympics will be a 17-day program celebrating equality

Sydney has marked the start of WorldPride with a Progress Pride flag raising ceremony, kicking off a 17-day program of art, performances, talks, parties, sport and comedy to celebrate equality.

The festivities will amount to Sydney’s biggest “occasion” since the 2000 Olympics and are expected to draw 500,000 visitors to 300 free and ticketed events.

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How we stay together: ‘It’s like the bow on a present or the icing on a cake’

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Jayne and Jodie first got together in a way they describe as ‘so unplanned and so random’, but two decades on they’re more settled than ever

Names: Jodie Nancarrow and Jayne Watson
Years together: 20
Occupations: retired

“It was a one-night stand that’s lasted for 20 years,” jokes Jodie Nancarrow about her enduring relationship with wife Jayne Watson. And despite the casual start and some challenging times, their commitment to each other is still going strong.

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‘Fun, spontaneous and full of love’: what three years of same-sex marriages looks like in Australia

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In the three years since same-sex marriage was legalised, more than 14,000 couples have taken the plunge. But for some, the struggle for full recognition continues

When Cynthia Nelson first heard about same-sex marriage in San Francisco in the 1980s, she wasn’t sure it was achievable in Australia.

“I didn’t believe it would become legal in my lifetime. In fact, I thought it was an unworthy goal for the LGBT movement – not only unattainable but too conservative, too mainstream,” the Sydney-based author and academic says.

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Scott Morrison condemns Israel Folau for linking bushfires to same-sex marriage and abortion

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Former Wallabies player’s comments in sermon follow controversy over his sacking for social media posts

Scott Morrison has labelled comments by sacked rugby union star Israel Folau linking devastating bushfires to Australia passing laws to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage “appallingly insensitive”.

Although both the prime minister and the Labor leader Anthony Albanese defended Folau’s right to express the view, condemnation on Monday was swift and bipartisan.

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British bishop rebukes Sydney Anglican leader’s call for gay marriage supporters to leave church

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Bishop of Liverpool says he regrets that Archbishop Glenn Davies ‘seems to want to exclude people rather than to engage with them’

A senior Church of England bishop has expressed regret at comments by the Archbishop of Sydney that supporters of marriage equality should leave the Anglican church.

Reflecting sharp divisions within the global Anglican communion over LGBT+ issues, the Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, said: “I regret that the archbishop [of Sydney] seems to want to exclude people rather than to engage with them within the wider Anglican family.”

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Pro-gay marriage Anglicans are walking a fine line in the Australian church | Andrew West

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The blunt words of Sydney archbishop Glenn Davies come at a critical moment for Australian churches and demands for religious freedom

For a man renowned for his civility, the language was blunt. During his annual speech to the Anglican Church’s Sydney synod, Archbishop Glenn Davies told supporters of same-sex marriage to “please leave us”.

“My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views,” he said. “But do not ruin the Anglican Church by abandoning the plain teaching of scripture.”

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Melbourne Anglicans vote to express ‘sorrow’ over blessing of same-sex marriages

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Melbourne synod’s vote comes days after Sydney archbishop said Anglicans who back same-sex marriage should leave church

Melbourne’s Anglican church has formally voted to record its “sorrow” over a regional Victorian diocese’s decision to bless same-sex marriages.

The nod of approval given by the Wangaratta diocese in August has angered the Melbourne church’s governing body.

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