A Queer Convergence: An Examination of Same-sex Union Policies in Canada and Australia.

Canada and Australia, as Westminster parliamentary federal systems, share many institutional similarities. However, there are key divergences in the exercise of institutional practices within their judiciaries and legislatures. In spite of these divergences, there has been a policy convergence in the area of same-sex unions. The causes of this convergence are twofold: first, the institutional arrangements under federalism provided the mechanisms for addressing same-sex unions; and second, it was the constituent units that utilised these institutional mechanisms in order to pursue the recognition of same-sex unions. Both the constituent units within Canada and Australia generated an ‘upward’ pressure on their respective federal governments (specifically the legislatures) to address the question of same-sex marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]