Australian PM
holds firm against same-sex marriage

Australian prime minister John Howard stood firm against same-sex marriage Thursday as an opinion poll revealed that 71% of Australians believe that same-sex partners should have the same legal rights as common law heterosexual couples.

''We are not in favor of discrimination, but of course our views on the nature of marriage in our community are very well-known, and they won't be changing,'' Howard told Sky television.

Howard's center-right government amended federal law in 2004 to ensure that gay and lesbian couples cannot legally marry and to eliminate any potential room for legal challenge to the ban.

Gay groups accused Howard of prejudice and also attacked his recent statements that Australia should shut its door to immigrants who are HIV-positive.

An independent human rights group, GetUp!, released a poll Thursday that showed 71% of Australians agreed that same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as heterosexual partners in common law marriages, while only 23% disagreed.

The national random telephone survey, conducted by Galaxy Research on June 16-17 of 1,100 Australians over the age of 16, had a 2.7% margin of error.

''Australians don't want their gay friends and family to feel like second-class citizens,'' GetUp! executive director Brett Solomon said.

With the elections due late this year and Howard's government trailing in opinion polls, Solomon said granting rights to same-sex couples is an ''electoral necessity.''

The Labor party, the main opposition to Howard's government, supported the ban on same-sex marriage.

Howard will come under further pressure to change the law to give gays and lesbians more rights when a report by the government's chief discrimination watchdog is made public late Thursday.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has submitted a report on a national inquiry into discrimination against people in same-sex relationships.

''The report will identify federal laws which deny same-sex couples and their children basic financial and work-related entitlements available to opposite-sex couples and their children,'' the commission said in a statement.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio reported that the commission would recommend law changes in a range of areas, including pension entitlements and insurance.

Howard said he would read the report but would not make any promises regarding his government's response.

''We certainly aren't a government that supports discrimination,'' Howard said. (Rod McGuirk, AP)