The gay descendent of the mutineer Fletcher Christian says he’s excited he may soon be able to wed his partner, as one of Australia’s smallest territories pushes forward with plans to make same-sex marriage legal.

Rebellion is once again in the air on Norfolk Island, as the self-governing territory of 2000 people half way between Australia and New Zealand prepares to vote on the law in the coming weeks.

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Cam Christian, who like many Norfolk Islanders can claim lineage to the master’s mate who more than 200 years ago led a mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty, is hoping the government in Canberra does not intervene.

“I’m just so proud that Norfolk is leading the way on an issue that matters to so many people,” Mr Christian told AAP.

“When my partner, Paul, and I got engaged we planned to have a commitment ceremony on the Island, but the chance to be married in front of family and friends is just so important and affirming for us.”

If passed, the legislation will allow same-sex couples from across Australia to marry on the island.

It is also estimated the severely depressed local economy could benefit by up to $12 million a year from the traffic of Australian same-sex couples marrying on the Island.

The legislation, which was to be tabled in the Norfolk Island parliament on Wednesday, has been drafted so that it establishes a separate scheme for same-sex marriages that runs in parallel to, but does not touch on the Federal Marriage Act.

It’s for this reason that supporters of the legislation both on the island and the mainland believe the laws will stand up to a challenge in the High Court. They stress the laws are not the same as those introduced in the ACT and overturned by the High Court last year.

Rodney Croome, the national directory of Australian Marriage Equality, has been on Norfolk Island advising the parliament’s nine-member assembly and says the federal government should resist exercising its veto power over the laws.

“This bill has been drafted to withstand the constitutional problems that sank last year’s ACT’s Marriage Equality Act and, should it pass, I urge the federal government to let it stand,” Mr Croome said.

“But if the federal government has outstanding constitutional concerns these should be aired in the High Court.”