The ACT will have the first gay unions in Australia after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave his all-clear to the proposal yesterday.
The nation's first gay-union ceremony should be performed in Canberra by the middle of next year.
Gay lobby groups were jubilant at Mr Rudd's declaration, but conservative religious campaigner the Reverend Fred Nile said Canberra had cemented its reputation as a "place of vice".
Mr Nile has called for a blanket tourism boycott of the national capital. "Nobody have a holiday in Canberra," he ordered.
Mr Rudd could have used his territory powers to override the ACT gay union laws, as the previous Liberal government did.
But he said yesterday it was not Labor policy to interfere with state and territory legislation.
"On these matters, state and territories are answerable to their own jurisdictions," Mr Rudd told reporters in Brisbane.
"State and territory governments are elected to govern, they are accountable to their constituents."
Federal Labor has opposed gay marriage, prompting speculation the Rudd Government might quash the ACT laws.
The ACT Civil Partnerships Bill which allows for formal ceremonies in which same-sex couples make a legal pledge to each other before an official is likely to be passed by the Assembly early next year. It is yet to be decided if interstate couples will be able to get hitched in Canberra.
Spokesman for Gay lobby group Australian Coalition for Equality Rodney Croome said there was now nothing standing in the way of same-sex unions.
"It certainly is a landmark not only for the ACT but for the entire nation," he said.
"Australia has just jumped a hurdle and we're not going back."
Mr Croome said other states would feel more free to consider same-sex ceremonies.
He commended the ACT Government for doggedly sticking with gay unions through two federal knockbacks.
Spokeswoman for ACT gay lobby group Good Process Mandy Sharplin said she was "ecstatic, happy, delighted" yesterday.
Many Canberra couples wanted to sign up for a civil union, and the federal knockbacks had caused angst. She said there were some HIV-positive people who were battling poor health and wanted to formalise their relationships.
Ms Sharplin said she was very proud the ACT would have the country's first same-sex unions.
"I'm jumping for joy on the inside," she said.
ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell, who is responsible for the Bill, warmly welcomed Mr Rudd's comments and said there was now no apparent obstacle to gay unions. Today he will meet his federal counterpart, Robert McClelland, who has expressed concerns about the unions. They will discuss whether the unions should be restricted to ACT residents, or whether interstate couples can sign up. The Bill does not contain a residency requirement but Mr Corbell has said he would be prepared to add one.
While gay groups claimed victory yesterday, Christian groups condemned the gay unions.
Mr Nile said he was "very disappointed" in Mr Rudd's stance. He called for a boycott of the ACT until the laws were repealed, saying Canberra would now have an unfettered X-rated industry plus gay marriages.
"I think it's shocking, we should be proud of our capital. It should be a place of virtue, not of vice," Mr Nile said.
Mr Rudd was going back on his promise to oppose gay marriages.
An ACT civil partnership is not legally a marriage, but Mr Nile said the partnerships mimicked marriage.
Christians and blue-collar Labor voters would be upset by the ACT's gay unions.
His Christian Democratic Party would field candidates in next year's ACT election to take a stand.
Managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby Jim Wallace said Mr Rudd had broken faith with the community. ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope was nothing but a "civil libertarian lawyer with a committee of nine who govern the ACT".
ACT Liberal leader Bill Stefaniak said his party would vote against the Bill because it mimicked marriage. The ACT should have a Tasmanian-style relationships register instead, he said.
Some countries allow same-sex couples to marry under the Marriage Act. The ACT proposal is to have a separate legal framework for same-sex couples.
Last year, the federal government struck out a similar ACT law by asking the Governor-General to disallow it. The ACT reworked its legislation into the current form, but this year the federal Liberal government said that would not pass either, so the ACT put the law on hold until now.