Following the Legislative Leaders: Judicial Recognition of Same Sex Couples in Australia and New Zealand

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights reserved. The rights of same-sex couples in Australia and New Zealand have been progressed significantly, primarily through legislative action. The New Zealand Parliament recently legislated for same-sex marriage. Despite attempts, same-sex marriage has not been achieved in Australia, although at the time of writing there were bills before Parliaments that, if passed, would enable same-sex marriage at either the State/Territory or Federal level. This chapter describes the legal order and legislative regimes in each country. It explains the contributions of the judiciary to law reform, judicial reflection of societal attitudes and the way that judges have applied laws to same-sex couples. The judiciary have generally embraced the legislature's lead towards equality enthusiastically, although some examples of homophobia and homo-ignorance are evident. Judges have been less able or prepared to promote same-sex couples' rights where the legislature has not taken the lead.