Fridae

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in a radio programme that although gays should not be discriminated against, they should not be allowed to marry, the Herald Sun reports.

"I don't believe in gay marriage," Howard told some 150 high school and college students at the National Museum of Australia. They had come to see him interviewed by three of their peers for youth broadcaster Triple J's radio segment, Talkback Classroom on youth issues, including homosexuality.

Mr Howard said he considered marriage to be one of the most important institutions in society and full marriage rights should be extended to cover homosexual relationships.

"I certainly don't think you should give the same status to homosexual relationships as you give to marriage??

The Prime Minister however added that he did not support any discrimination against people because of their sexuality.

"We should be completely tolerant and fair-minded about people's sexual preferences but I don't believe homosexual relationships should be given the same place in our society such as traditional concepts as marriage," Mr Howard said.

His comments were described by gay politicians as hypocritical and stuck in a 1950s time warp.

In response to the PM, opposition leader Kim Beazley said same sex couples should be recognised under laws which applied to heterosexual couples such as on issues such as superannuation equality, according to Australian news website - news.com.au.

"I think that is a reasonable thing to do, to give recognition to the fact that there is a relationship there."

While New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania recognize same-sex couples in de facto relationships, the Commonwealth legislation in crucial policy areas overrides the recognition given by the states.

Ironically, Australia?s largest city, Sydney is renowned for one of the world's biggest gay and lesbian communities alongside San Francisco. The city, which will host the sixth international Gay Games next year, is also home to one the world?s largest annual gay festivals - the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.