Australia Prime Minister John Howard confirmed yesterday that the Federal Government is considering blocking legal recognition of gay marriages by amending the 1961 Marriage Act to codify that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

The proposed changes that would also prevent legal recognition for Australian gay couples who get married in Canada or the Netherlands drew criticism from GLBT rights groups and political opponents.

The Australian Democrats condemned the Coalition's move to limit same-sex couples' options while Democrats senator Brian Greig accused Howard of "aping the reactionary politics of (US) President Bush."

High-profile lesbian couple Dr Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker, who published a book about their relationship called Kerryn and Jackie, have labelled John Howard's plan to block legal recognition of gay marriages "a form of apartheid."

"Blacks and coloureds were not allowed to marry whites under apartheid in South Africa," said Dr Phelps, the former Australian Medical Association president, in the The Australian paper.

"This is no different.

"And it's a desperate and narrow-minded attempt to copy what (US President) George Bush is trying to do in the US. I'm not sure what Howard is trying to achieve through this, except to play wedge politics and marginalise a group that is a minority."

Although the pair had a religious wedding ceremony in New York in 1998, their union is not recognised by Australian courts.

Under the proposed changes, pushed by the Australian Family Association and 31 Coalition backbenchers who petitioned Mr Howard last month, marriage would for the first time be codified in legislation as a union between a man and a woman.

In a radio interview, Howard denied targeting gay people.

"The proposal would simply be to insert a definition in the Marriage Act which gives formal expression to what most people regard to be the case - which is that marriage as we understand it in Australia is between a man and a woman," he said.

"This is not directed at gay people, it is directed at reaffirming a bedrock understanding of our society."

The report also revealed that the federal Opposition is unlikely to oppose Mr Howard's plan to amend the 1961 Marriage Act. Opposition leader Mark Latham had refused to comment on the issue.

Greens Senator Bob Brown who opposes Howard's plan said, "You can see that Labor's going to take the old fashioned high ground and side with John Howard because it is safe," Mr Brown said.

"Why should John Howard, who's a product of the 50s, be such a blight on people's happiness and their ability to see themselves as equal in the Australian society," he said.

"The rest of the world is moving on."

In related news, the Sydney Sun-Herald reported that five major advertisers on the Australian broadcast of The L Word have bowed to pressure from a small Christian lobby group known as the Saltshakers.

Just Jeans, DaimlerChrysler, Roche, Allianz, and Centrum have reportedly pulled their ads from the Channel Seven broadcast of the lesbian-themed drama.

The group cited concerns that the show advocates "self-insemination" in its story line regarding a lesbian couple looking to conceive. "I think there are a lot of people out there concerned," said Saltshakers chief executive Peter Stokes," and companies concerned that their ads may be supporting women self-inseminating and women bringing children into the world who haven't got fathers."