If Portugal can allow same-sex marriage, why not Australia?

The same problem exists at a social level, with family, friends and the community understanding and recognising civil partnerships much less than marriages.

Civil partnerships are fine for couples who don’t wish to marry. Australia already has state schemes which serve this purpose well.

But, where civil partnerships exist instead of same-sex marriage they entrench discrimination rather than removing it. They are a step away from full equality, not a step towards it.

Greater global recognition of same-sex marriages deeply embarrasses many Australians. But it also illustrates what moral and political debates we must have before equality can be achieved, and what pitfalls we should avoid along the way.