Hugh Jackman and Olivia Newton-John are
among the famous Australians who on Monday endorsed gay marriage, The
Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“With respect to marriage equality, I
believe that no-one has the right to judge and deny couples who love
each other the ability to make a marriage commitment,” Newton-John
said in a statement.
“Love is love as much to same-sex
couples as to other Australians,” she added.
Also signing on to the endorsement are
Wallaby's captain David Pocock, film critics David Stratton and
Margaret Pomeranz and costume designer Lizzy Gardiner.
(Related: David
Pocock says he won't marry until gay marriage is legal in Australia.)
The effort to legalize marriage for gay
and lesbian couples in Australia got a large boost late last year
when Australia's dominant party, the Australian Labor Party (ALP),
agreed to alter its long-standing party platform opposing such
unions. At its annual conference in Sydney, party leaders also
adopted Prime Minister Julia Gillard's motion to allow lawmakers to
make a “conscience vote” on bills related to gay marriage, which
allows lawmakers to vote as they please rather than the party line, a move widely seen as diminishing the effect of the ALP's
endorsement.