Mainstream Australia against same-sex marriages

CANBERRA - Gay and lesbian couples have little hope now of marrying in Australia, with a report confirming that a ban on same-sex wedlock has widespread support.

The Institute of Family Studies report says that while there are indications that Australians are gradually becoming more tolerant, some of the strongest opposition to homosexuality is found among the young.

And most Australians oppose the right of gays and lesbians to marry and adopt children, resisting a global push by homosexual couples and supporting the rejection of new marriage laws promoted by both the Government and Labor in August.

Last month the South Australian Government withdrew a bill that would have given gay and lesbian couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, but excluded homosexual marriage, adoption, and access to reproductive technology.

"Our knowledge of attitudes regarding same-sex relationships is patchy but the general picture is that the typical Australian is strongly opposed to homosexuality," the report says. It shows that the nation's estimated 41,535 gay and 28,144 lesbian couples tend to live affluent, comfortable lives but suffer from laws that discriminate against them.

Gay and lesbian couples tend to be much more highly educated than their heterosexual peers, are more likely to be professionals and tend to earn considerably more.

But federal law prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage, and all states, except Western Australia and Tasmania, ban the adoption of children by gay or lesbian couples.

Recent reforms to WA family law treat same-sex couples like married couples in regard to children, property, maintenance and financial agreements.

Tasmania will register - without recognising marriage - same-sex relationships, allowing the adoption of a partner's children, access to their superannuation, the authority to authorise medical treatment and the right to inherit.

But in SA and the Northern Territory, laws governing financial agreements after separation for same-sex couples do not apply for gays and lesbians and, while the other states confer the same rights for same-sex couples as for de facto relationships, they do not provide the rights federal law provides for married couples.

All states except WA and Tasmania ban the adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples.

And while every state recognises the male partner of a woman undergoing artificial conception as the father of the child, none except WA gives a lesbian partner the same legal standing.

The report says that most Australians support the restrictions, with 60-70 per cent opposed to homosexuality and against giving the legal rights of married couples - including adoption - to gays and lesbians.