Woollahra to get same-sex register

A second NSW council has followed City of Sydney’s example to create a relationship register while the NSW Government continues to hold out.

Woollahra Council unanimously voted to establish a register at its final meeting of the year.

Our municipality has one of the highest populations of gay and lesbian people in Sydney, so this is a step forward for us, Paddington ward councillor Peter Cavanagh said.

He hoped it would set an example so all councils in NSW would follow suit, and thanked Sydney councillor Shayne Mallard and Lord Mayor Clover Moore for helping with the model.

If all councils did this then people who live out west in Broken Hill or anywhere else could do it locally instead of going into the City of Sydney.

Immigration officials ask same-sex couples seeking residency for a foreign partner if they have registered with their state or council, so the service was needed, he said.

Last week Victoria joined the ranks of states and territories offering a same-sex relationship register, along with Tasmania and the ACT.

NSW Attorney-Gen-eral John Hatzistergos declined to comment on the enactment of the Victorian register or explain whether he would reconsider his opposition to state-based registers.

Hatzistergos has previously said he would prefer a federal register.

Have your say: Is it time the NSW Government developed a same-sex relationship register?