Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her government was making it a priority to return provisions to same sex couples which were taken away by the previous LNP government.

The Bligh Government passed its civil union legislation in its dying days.  It was one of the first things undone by the Newman Government, which took away state-sanctioned ceremonies and renamed it registered relationships.

The states have no power to change the Marriage Act, which is a federal government responsibility. While Tony Abbott has ruled out a referendum on the issue, which is how Ireland decided the issue, momentum is building for a conscience vote within the Australian parliament.

A recent marriage equality study found just a handful of MPs, about four, stood between a conscience vote passing the lower house.  Queensland's newest Senator, Joanna Lindgren, has said she stands against same-sex marriage, citing her Roman Catholic beliefs.

But Ms Palaszczuk said she believed it was "important" to reinstate what rights the state could.

"My aim is to have the civil unions bill re-introduced to the Queensland Parliament later this year, " she said.

Her Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said she would begin the consultation process as soon as possible.

"What I want to do is actually go out and consult with the various stakeholders before I introduce anything to the parliament," she said.

"My plan is I will be going out soon to consult with key stakeholders."

Ms D'Ath would not comment on the situation in Ireland, other than to say "it is a positive step".

"I think it is just a matter of time that these things will change," she said.

"But I think it is important that, at any government level, you have consultation and you try and bring people along with you when you make these sorts of changes, that is what I will seek to do."

But it will take a little longer for other wrongs to be righted, with removing the gay panic provocation defence and expunging historical convictions for homosexuality prior to 1989, still a little way off.

"Will I be be mixing them all up and going consulting?  It is not my expectation to do that," she said.

"They are different policy areas, different election commitments.

"So in relation to the expunging of previous convictions and the issue of gay panic defence provisions, we have made commitments around that, I'm working on these things and I will work on timeframes for these things over the coming months, but the civil partnership is one of those that I will go out and consult separately on that."