Nov 24, 2007Quickie Link: Homophobic Howard Gov't Defeated In Australia
By vanrozenheim
(Australia) - Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal government suffered a crushing defeat to the opposition Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd on Saturday. Howard's ouster ended 11 years leading Australia with most Australian's seeing him as "yesterday's man". The vote ends longstanding disagreements between Howard's Liberals and Australia's Gay community over recognizing same-sex relationships. How much more Gay friendly a Labor government will be has yet to be determined. Rudd is opposed to same-sex marriage, but on the campaign trail said that if Labor formed the next government it would implement most of the recommendations of the federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. The Greens, with its openly Gay leader Bob Brown, was the only party to support Gay marriage, but failed to win any seats in Parliament.
