Posts Tagged: ALP gay marriage

Australia / Politicians / Uncategorized — No Comments
7
Nov 10

THE PRESSURE PILES ON IN AUSTRALIA

Anna Bligh by Michelle Smith

So let’s get this straight Julia … you are still pushing the same old lame pointless line, which defies every fibre of your background and sensibilities:
“Marriage is a union between a man and woman. We talked about this in 2009 so we can’t talk about it again until 2012.”

Get a grip. This is the era of the National Broadband Network, your government’s wonderful and wonderfully expensive attempt to get us ceaselessly connecting and creating and talking … why the hell should anyone shut up to fit in with your pointless and artificial timetables, built on your pointless and artificial political positions?

This weekend alone the most significant factional powerbroker of the governing party – Mark Arbib, and the President of the Party who also happens to be the Premier of Queensland – Anna Bligh, have come out in support of equality.

They join the most influential union leader, the Left faction of the Party, the notional holders of the balance of power in the Senate The Greens party, and 62% of the population in supporting gay marriage. Around 80% want a debate that the Prime Minister refuses to have.

It wouldn’t surprise me for a second if you and Penny Wong, the Cabinet’s lone lesbian, cling for dear life to the official line … but this is one tragedy whose ending can still be re-written.

The LABOR Government does not need to be on the same side on bitter grandpas, busy-body bigots, religious fanatics, and the slothfully ignorant and close-minded.   It can join all of the reasonable people like the million gays and lesbians and their millions of friends and supporters and do what Labor Governments are supposed to do:  support the vulnerable, the unequal, the unfairly treated.

For f*ck’s sake: get off the Titantic, Julia.

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Australia / Politicians — 3 Comments
9
Aug 10

GAY MARRIAGE = CHILD ABUSE

Family First Australian Senate candidate Wendy Francis

Family First Australian Senate candidate Wendy Francis

In case you were wondering what got into the out lesbian Australian Senator Penny Wong a couple of weeks back, when she refused to support gay marriage publicly … take a look at this context.

This is the thinking on gay marriage of the lead candidate (in the key state of Queensland ) for the Family First party that holds the balance of power in the Australian Senate:
“Australia would never recover from legalising gay marriage … Children in homosexual relationships are subject to emotional abuse. Legitimising gay marriages is like legalizing child abuse“   and  “Gay marriage = kids with no mothers or no fathers, parent-less generation; uncontrollable depression & suicide. Is that the Aust we want?”

The racist party One Nation also announced this week that we all need rehab for being gay.  That doesn’t make the Australian Labor Party’s weakness on marriage equalityOK – they are actually out of step with a slim majority of Australians.  But at least now you can see what they are having to deal with in Parliament to achieve any of their agenda!

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Australia / Politicians — 13 Comments
24
Jul 10

HOW WOULD LABOR CABINET VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE IN AUSTRALIA?

Australia's Labor Cabinet

Australia's Labor government

There has been a lot of fuss and discussion – and rightly so about these comments here from Penny Wong and Julia Gillard’s ‘personal view’ that marriage is between a man and a woman.  But  how would a re-elected Labor Cabinet actually vote on marriage equality if the issue were ever put to a vote?

The answer may surprise you – and give strong hope of progress if we can get a real debate happening. Having dealt with most of these people in various capacities in the last 10 years, in my analysis there are Definite yes:  6, Probable yes: 5, Swinging: 3 Probable no: 7, Definite no: 0

TOTAL LEANING YES: 11  SWING: 3  TOTAL LEANING NO: 7 (full reasoning later in article)

How is this possible you might be wondering? Continue reading →

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Australia / Politicians — 1 Comment
1
Jul 10

CROOME ON GILLARD: PERSONAL POSITION INEXPLICABLE

Rodney Croome and Julia Gillard

Rodney Croome and Julia Gillard

This is a very well written piece by Rodney Croome on why it seems inexplicable for Prime Minister Julia Gillard to personally oppose gay marriage in Australia.

It’s especially clever to point out how ridiculous it would be for Australia to refuse to recognise the marriage of the Icelandic Prime Minister if she came to visit (currently her marriage would have to left at border control).

But there is hope – large chunks of the ruling Labor party support equality including Ministers.

The wider point though is that Gillard’s view only tenable because the movement for equality is still too disorganised. It’s a silent majority yet to be tested by rigorous debate. Partly because people like Gillard avoid it; so this tactical position – and that’s all it can be  - may have bought her some time, but sooner or later Gillard will have to confront the fact that this issue drives immense passion and can’t be quarantined. That and the fact that as an atheist, childless, unmarried and obviously left-leaning woman her public position to oppose marriage choice and equality is indeed ridiculous.

These comments here from Penny Wong are just dodging bullets.

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