I am pleased to report that same sex civil unions have been passed in the parliament of my home state of Queensland. We have come a long way in the past 20 years. Until 1990 homosexuality was illegal in this state( the last Australian state to decriminalise homosexuality was Tasmania in 1997). The Australian Federal Government removed all forms of descrimination against same sex couples in 2008 in all areas except marriage. The governing Labor party has this week voted to allow same sex marriage on it's platform( the current marriage act defines marriage as between a man and a woman) and this would need to be changed by the Federal Parliament. Queensland also allows for same sex couples to be registered as parents on their birth certificates. Unfortunately the state opposition party which voted against the Civil Union Bill has vowed to reverse this decision if it wins government in the next state election due early next year.