Former Australian prime minister John Howard has reaffirmed his belief that the 2004 parliamentary ban on same-sex marriage was the right decision, despite Australia legalising it over a decade later.
In a recent interview with News.com.au, Howard defended his government’s amendment to the Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “the union of a man and a woman.” The amendment, introduced with bipartisan support from Labor, was intended to solidify the traditional definition of marriage under Australian law.
The decision followed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in countries like the Netherlands (2001) and Belgium (2003), alongside emerging reforms in parts of North America. Howard rejected claims that the move was designed to suppress public debate on the issue.
“We amended the Marriage Act … to not change the definition of marriage because most people thought it unthinkable that a marriage would be other than a man and woman [at that time],” Howard said. “The idea we did that to prejudice debate is nonsense.”
According to Howard, then-attorney general Philip Ruddock advised that failing to act could have resulted in a court ruling determining the definition of marriage, making the government’s position harder to enforce.
“The way to fix it was to get in first, to lay down the definition, and the definition we put in reflected the government’s view at the time,” Howard explained.
Recently released Cabinet advice from the National Archives of Australia sheds further light on the 2004 decision. Ministers were presented with two options: explicitly ban the recognition of overseas same-sex marriages or reinforce the traditional definition of marriage in Australian law. The government opted for the latter, which was later used to block same-sex marriages in the ACT in 2013 before being overturned by the High Court.
Howard also revealed that he voted “No” in the 2017 postal plebiscite, which ultimately led to parliament legalising same-sex marriage after widespread public support. Despite his opposition, Howard, now 85, has accepted the outcome.
“I voted against it, but I lost,” he said. “The other side won, and that’s how it works. My name is not Trump”.
