by Rex Wockner
International News
The Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is located, was forced to rewrite its civil-union bill after the federal government promised to overturn it.
The weakened measure passed the territory's Legislative Assembly on May 9.
At issue was not the civil unions themselves, but the marriagelike ceremony that was to accompany them.
"Given the stubborn refusal of the federal government to consider any compromise, the territory has decided to amend its legislation to provide for a form of civil partnerships without ceremony," said ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell.
He accused the feds of wielding "undemocratic 19th-century colonial-style power."
