Posts Tagged: gay marriage australia

Australia / Campaigns / Celebrities / Miscellaneous / Myths — No Comments
14
Jul 11

THE GLOBAL GAY GESTAPO

Loree and Kevin Rudd

Loree and Kevin Rudd

WTF? I did not expect to read about Kevin Rudd and the global gay gestapo this morning.

This is one of those situations of “who cares what a relative of a famous person or a famous person says.” They don’t have an extraordinary insight, they just have a name.

Well, seeing as I am happy to take all the good stuff from our liberal friendly celebrities … I have to support the downside of this fame game too. Like the sister of the recent Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, saying Australia is being held hostage by the “gay gestapo” when it comes to marriage equality. Go back in your box!

Insensitive. Wrong. Lacking in insight. Offensive to all Gestapo victims. We could go on. And we could also say that Brother Rudd is playing it smart by shutting up, which is something Sister Rudd would have been well advised to do.

But someone has to condemn this crazy lady, and I am certainly going to be one of those people.  And it will be a good day when she leaves the Australian Labor Party which is growing more enlightened and will one day cut these sorts of people loose and officially adopt equality as its national policy.

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Australia / North America / Politicians / Uncategorized — No Comments
11
Jul 11

PETTY IN PINK

Julia Gillard in a 2010 pink makeover

Julia Gillard in a 2010 pink makeover

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is mind-boggling.  The very week she tackles a long-sighted politically difficult subject: pricing carbon in order to reduce climate change, she engages in base pettiness against gays: again.

This time, it is re-stating that the Australian government will not only stop gay marriage on its territory, it will continue to try to stop its citizens getting married elsewhere. The reaction was prompted by Australians, including one of her own party’s Members of Parliament, considering travelling to New York to marry.

This issue has arisen before. But it’s astonishing that they continue to enforce this arbitrary view when every single section of the governing party has the opposite approach: they have all endorsed equality.  And on the specific issue of Certificates of No Impediment to marriage, a broad Parliamentary Committee clearly said in 2009 there is no justification for continuing the policy.

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Australia / Global / Politicians — No Comments
13
Jan 11

WE’RE FEATURED IN THIS MONTH’S COSMO

 

Gay Marriage Blog is feature in Feb 2001 Cosmo
For all of you who aren’t subscriber’s to Cosmo (Cosmopolitan) magazine – I have a little treat for you: me. 
In this month’s Australian edition there is a great story (I would say that) looking at how the Australian marriage equality campaign is developing. It’s wonderful to see these issues reaching young readers.

All our global readers can check the story out here. If you’re from Australia try to buy a copy of the magazine to support the cause, or read more about the magazine on their website (which unfortunately does not print the story)

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Australia / Campaigns / Politicians — 1 Comment
22
Nov 10

7 MILLION PISSED-OFF PEOPLE: AUSTRALIA’S WILD RIDE SET TO CONTINUE

Will the next week build the same momentum in Australia as the one just past?
It will be hard, but it is possible.

To re-cap: 
- two new national opinion polls showed majority support for gay marriage. 
- The first ever real parliamentary debate on gay marriage took place, and produced the first parliamentary result that was not anti-equality.
- The largest ever nationwide rallies in on a gay issue took place
- A fourth branch of the governing Australian Labor Party (the Northern Territory) endorsed equality. Four in favour now; four without an official position and one – the most important, the national conference, against equality (but for civil unions)
- There are now multiple MPs and Senators in every state and territory and from all parties (except the conservative rural National party) who openly support equality.

Media coverage has been largely encouraging – with dozens of supportive columns including from big name writers such as Adele Horin, Michelle and Lenore Taylor. however there are two clear exceptions to this trend: male commentators are clearly most hostile or dismissive and news reporting has been shallow and inaccurate often. 

My theory: the canberra press gallery largely live in a bubble. They are more comfortable with opinion polls than reality. They court anonymous source rather than prizing on the ground reporting. They do not see how keenly this issue is felt both by gays and lesbians and by others a symbol of a hollow Labor philosophy, becau we are not an entrenched interest group that is listed in their black books.

They forget that while gays and lesbians may only be 5% of the population, that is still more than one million people who are increasingly angry victims of injustice. they have two million parents and another two million sibling,  and probably mother couple of million straight friends… What do you know? That is suddenly seven million pissed off people.

Not exactly a strategy for fairness or good government when one is governing by a majority of one, is it?

One thing has been agreed by most at least: gay marriage is NOT going away as an issue. Welcome to the Australian cultural wars courtesy of Julia Gillard’s intransigence.
    

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Australia / Celebrities / Jokes — No Comments
16
Nov 10

“REPLACE GAY WITH ABORIGINAL …”

Melbourne-based comedian and newspaper columnist Marieke Hardy goes off in this article on gay marriage. Tres impressive.

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Australia / Campaigns / Politicians — 3 Comments
15
Nov 10

FINALLY THE AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT STARTS A REAL DEBATE

Stephen Jones MP (left), Adam Bandt MP (right)

To be sure, this is just one step on a long road, but Monday 15 November will at least be remembered as the day the Australian Commonwealth Parliament decided to grow up about gay marriage.

Melbourne’s Green MP Adam Bandt introduced a motion today calling on all parliamentarians to gauge their constituents’ views on the marriage equality issue (ahead of introducing a draft law on the bill). The Labor Government will support this motion, but apparently not the bill itself.

It is a small step, particularly small indeed, because only a tiny minority of MPs said anything brave, interesting or new… but it is lot better than the minor Greens or Democrat parties simply talking to a brick wall.

For example, here is the Labor MP Stephen Jones (a new MP from a classic working-class Labor heartland seat): ”Having applied the core Labor values of equality, fairness and dignity, I believe that there is a case for change.” He is now one of a dozen government figures who admit their support for equality, while officially the party digs in against it.

Independent Andrew Wilkie warned that Parliament was in danger of being out of touch with community sentiment. ”The majority of the Australian community is ready for a conscience vote on marriage equality, so let’s at least agree to go so far as having a public discussion about the issue,” he said

A quick campaign today by the Get Up lobby group lead to  5,000 personal stories, photos and messages of support for marriage equality being sent to MPs…. people like Sharon Grierson (Labor) are getting the message: “I empathise with the mother who emailed me to say that she has two young adult children, one who is married to the person they love and the other who can’t marry the person they love because they are of the same sex.” Continue reading →

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Asia / Australia / Personal Stories — 1 Comment
12
Nov 10

THE GROOMS WORE BLACK …

Ashley and Glenn Anderson-Buick

Ashley + Glenn Anderson-Buick, photo Wolter Peeters

Another heart warming and heart wrenching story here of committed Australians marrying abroad …

“The grooms wore black suits, no ties. It was an intimate affair with just 12 guests. Lake Ontario glistened in the background as Ashley and Glenn Anderson-Buick were married. Random onlookers congratulated them. ”Where’s the bride?” asked a homeless man who had watched the exchange of vows. Ashley pointed to his new husband, who was offered 50 cents as a wedding present…. Full story at

http://www.smh.com.au/national/vowed-to-fight-for-recognition-20101112-17raf.html

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Australia / Global / Miscellaneous / Politicians / Uncategorized — 8 Comments
9
Nov 10

MAP OF ALP EQUALITY SUPPORTERS

This is encouraging, but it also shows how much work there is to do … especially in regional Australia… please let me know who else should be on there.


View Gay marriage supporters in the Australian Labor Party in a larger map

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Australia / Campaigns / Photos / Politicians / Role models — 1 Comment
8
Nov 10

THE POTENTIAL WEDDING ALBUM – BRILLIANT!

Kristie and Jessica, from Croydon Park, South Australia

Kristie and Jessica, from Croydon Park, South Australia

This is just the best idea I’ve seen in ages - so simple and powerful.

The premise: all the happy wedding photos that could exist if only the Australian Government would get out of the way and let people love and nuture the way they want to love and nurture. Read more about the intentions of the project here. Check it out! http://www.thepotentialweddingalbum.org/

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Australia / Politicians — 3 Comments
24
Oct 10

NUMBERS DON’T LIE; POLITICIANS DO

I never thought I’d sound so cynical about the political process … but I can’t help feeling that one of the biggest problems in the gay marriage debate in Australia, my home country,  is the number of politicians who lie or hide what they really think about the issue.

Like the 62 per cent of Australians who now say they support equality, and the 80 per cent who think there should be a free vote on the issue in Parliament, there are many politicians from all parties who agree.

But we don’t hear it.  We just hear nonsense from our left-wing, atheist, childless, unmarried, female Prime Minister.  Really – is there a set of political and lifestyle indicators more closely associated with supporting equality than Julia Gillard’s?  Frankly, no.  Never mind that 80 per cent of the people who voted for her support equality.

So what gives?

You tell me, because I can’t figure it out.  Gay marriage is more popular than Julia Gillard is – by a long way. At least two and probably three of the five cross-bench Members of Parliament would vote for it. So she isn’t going to lose government or votes. And no one is even asking for her to lead the debate. They are just wanting her to authorise one. Kind of like a democracy, ya know.

Maybe we will have wait nine years for it – that’s how long it took to have a proper debate on the war in Afghanistan after all.

Things you can do in the meantime:

- register your support here at http://www.freevote.org.au/ for a ‘conscience vote’ on the issues in the Commonwealth Parliament

- support the Green party’s national legislation on marriage equality

- find a champion in Labor or Liberal who is willing to take a risk in being the ‘voice for gay marriage’ and rallying behind that individual as they build support and decontaminate this issue inside the Parliament

Continue reading →

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