NathanJ, people can meet at a pub & conceive a child that night, with out even knowing each others names.

Two years of a de-facto relationship brings the same laws into play as a marriage with a licence. Such licenses are an unnecessary intrusion by the state into peoples private lives.

I suggest you stay out of others personal relationships, morals & bedrooms, as what others do is their business.

Drivers on the other hand are going to be sharing our roads, & any incompetence will endanger many others. Driving licenses should be much harder to acquire.

Marriage licence or driver licence, they're just taxes.

So cough up, and shut up!

Hasbeen has a point up to a point. That point is when dysfunctional relationships, mainly in the form of children become a burden to everyone else.

Just for Aiden!

Husband comes home unexpectedly and finds his wife in bed with the local copper;

Husband; What's go'en on here?

Copper; Just give'n ya misses the marriage test.

Husband; How'd she go?

Copper; I ran her up the one way street, she done a three point turn which was pritty bloody good. But when I reversed parked, she was was only so, so.

Husband; Did she pass?

Copper; Nah! I'll have to come back tomorrow and test her again. Gotta go now, have to test Betty in number 13, before her husband knocks off shift.

Paul1405,

So which one is Aiden married to, Betty or the slut?

Marriage is in many ways a responsibility, not simply a right. In fact I would argue marriage has many serious elements to consider, many different than driving and yet our ability to get a marriage license is so easy.

So many want the right of marriage, which includes the need for a marriage license (for a lot of people) but they don't want to take the responsibilities that go along with it.

The decision in terms of finding a marital partner, who will be part of a person's life can be difficult or easy. That decision will change a persons life and can lead to a range of societal problems if not given the seriousness it deserves.

Flow on effects can include family violence, where people have taken the lives of their partners and children. This is where pre-marriage counselling is worthy of discussion, whether it is my business or not. After all, the wider public ultimately pays the price for those actions in a range of ways.

Life is full of surprises, which people cannot predict beforehand. We are all liable to face accidents but many of us do not know how to deal with these wisely, whether it be if we hold a marriage or drivers license.

"In NSW, once a driver becomes a permanent resident a local licence should be obtained generally within three months."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_licences_in_Australia

So why is getting a marriage license so much easier? I find that so off-putting.