The Marriage Amendment Bill 2004 was pushed through on 24 May 2004 at the behest of PM John Howard, with Attorney-General Philip Ruddock saying the amendment to the Marriage Act would “protect the institution of marriage”.



So the Marriage Act 1961 was changed to define marriage as the “voluntarily entered-into union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others”.

Until then, marriage was not legally defined as being between a man and a woman.

The Act was changed by Parliament without consultation with the electorate, without plebiscite nor postal vote; and without prior electoral promise or mandate.

We call upon the Parliament to revisit their actions of 24 May 2004 and do it again – in reverse – this time to end the discrimination imposed upon a section of the Australian community as enacted that day.