Posts Tagged: Julia Gillard gay marriage

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 / Politicians — 1 Comment
20
May 11

AUSSIE LEADER CONVERTS

Victoria Labor leader Daniel Andrews with family



The Labor Party’s Victorian leader (the second largest state), Daniel Andrews, has given his backing to equality in Australia.

“Like a growing number of Australians I recognise that denying same sex couples the option of marriage is unfair,” Mr Andrews told The Australian. “My view on this issue was influenced when one of my staff and her partner had to travel to America to get married. That brought home to me the unfairness of the current situation.”

 

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Australia / Politicians — 1 Comment
3
Mar 11

POLITICS AS USUAL IN AUSTRALIA

Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister

Australia is giving the USA a run for its money on gay marriage politics. I’ve never seen such contortions and nonsense, here’s a small insight.  In essence, this week gay marriage is being used as a prop by at least three different political groups - two of whom (the majority of the ruling Labor party and the Greens party) notionally support marriage equality.

As with the endless court cases and parliamentary readings in the USA, where there is a blog or cable station at every turn to record drama, drama, drama, we are starting to see the same in Australia. A debate about territory rights has turned into a proxy debate about gay marriage (basically Canberra and the Outback have the same status as the Distrtict of Columbia in the US). Because in the nation’s capital the local Labor government and the Greens have long waited to introduce marriage equality, and have been foiled – DOMA style – by more conservative federal administrations who could veto them.

Opportunistic media outlets are having a field day because they smell political blood. And if they can’t smell it, they have decided they will try and manufacture it. So now, instead of just getting on with the job as the UK did in 2005 with civil unions, or properly separating the issues of territory rights and gay marriage, the ruling Labor party is tearing itself apart in a frightening unproductive way.

Remember, this is a country where 60% support equalilty; it is about a territory where around 70% and the local government support equalilty; and its happening in a party where most party members want equality.  Basically, the ONLY thing holding the process up is a dozen or so scared or conservative people at Ministerial level.

This is a debate about nothing. This is politics as soap opeara. And I am really starting to get sick of it.

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Uncategorized — 1 Comment
30
Nov 10

THE SUBURBS THAT SAY “I DON’T”

A fascinating graphic above from the news.com.au chain of papers, which dominate the Australian newspaper market.
This shows clearly what Julia Gillard has been worried about: a wall of opposition to marriage equality in outer suburban – the swinging seats in nearly all elections.
Surprising the greatest opposition comes from the Labor heartland of the Labor-leaning city of Sydney [think deep blue state] (though perhaps it is not surprising when one examines the often value-free, argument-free zone that is NSW Labor machine politics)

THE GOOD NEWS: 149 out of 150 electorates have a majority in support of marriage equality. It does not get more comprehensive than that, and the news comes from a massive sample of 148,000 people.

Suburbs opposed to gay marriage in Australia

The Not So Great Wall of Opposition in Australia

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Australia / Lesbian / Politicians / Uncategorized — 3 Comments
27
Nov 10

FINALLY PENNY WONG COMES OUT – AND ANOTHER DOMINO TUMBLES

Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

Australian Senator Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

What a great day!

Yet another state branch of the Australian Labor Party backs gay marriage - this time South Australia, birthplace of Australia’s gay rights movement in the 1960s.  So much for the nonsense that supporting gay marriage is about this government being run by the Greens; no, it is finally a case of the Government being run by the people.

Most newsworthy of course is not the motion backing marriage, but the fact that the much vilified Penny Wong spoke in support of it.

Wong said: “There has been some commentary which has confused my position of not commenting publicly on this issue with my position on the actual issue itself … I have had the opportunity to advocate for equality at the highest levels of our party and within our party processes, as I do today. And I will do so again at the next national conference.” She then pointedly added: ” Talking about change is not the same as delivering it.”

Yes, she should have done this ages ago, but this is a very welcome move. And it should put all the sniping and vilifiers back in their place. Wong faced a backlash several months back that went beyond criticism and verged into racism and stupidity – now she is out and proud on the side of equality and this will really shift the debate inside the Labor party.

The motion reads: “This convention calls upon the ALP national conference to amend the platform to support the legal right of all adult couples in Australia to be married if they so choose, and for that marriage to be recognised and registered by law in Australia, regardless of the sexual orientation, or gender, of the parties to the marriage.”

What does this mean?  We probably won’t be getting marriage equality before 2012 – but this might change – but we will almost certainly be getting it in 2012 at the latest. That does not apply if there is an early election and the Government is wiped out. But it probably isn’t going to do much worse than in August 2010 and any loss of support will probably go to the Greens anyway.

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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 / Politicians / Surprising Marriage Equality Supporters — 2 Comments
21
Nov 10

OUTBACK SAYS YES TO GAY MARRIAGE

Uluru in the northern territory

Twice in one day the people of the Northern Territory of Australia (read: Crocodile Dundee, harsh desert, on Asia’s doorstep, large indigenous communities) have backed gay marriage.

First up in a major national opinion poll, where 58% are in favour. Secondly, through the unanimous vote of the Australian Labor Party annual conference for the region. Not that you would know if from the mainstream media – I found out via the Twitter feed of the Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Howes (see above). This incidentally means every NT MP backs marriage… so much for regional Australian opposition!

The people and the governing party are clearly saying yes to marriage. The Prime Minsiter wanted consultation with the people and now she’s getting it: they say yes!

Time for the national government to buck up and do something concrete and positive about it.

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Australia / Celebrities / Lesbian / Marriage — 3 Comments
18
Nov 10

DE ROSSI ATTACKS GILLARD; GREENS MOTION WINS IN PARLIAMENT

Portia DeRossi now Portia DeGeneres

The temperature is rising in Australia. There is nothing like a celebrity scorned and a minor party getting their way in Parliament to upset homophobic bliss.

Portia De Rossi told 702 ABC Radio Sydney that she expected Australia to be a world leader on the issue. ”I always thought Australia would pass this equal rights law long before America would,” she said.

Parliament voted 73-72 for MPs to gauge feelings among voters about gay weddings, which are currently banned under Australian law and opposed by both major parties.

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Australia / Civil Union / Politicians — No Comments
17
Nov 10

SHOWDOWN: JULIA GILLARD VERSUS PENNY WONG

So now it starts to become clearer. Julia Gillard is the real stumbling block inside the Labor Government, if this story is accurate … and I am betting it is.

In short it shows that Gillard basically wants this risk off the table to preserve her fragile government, betting that equality supporters care less about change than the Christian Right. That’s a big bet. And it’s a stupid one as the last week’s growing momentum for change show. Both supporters of equality and those who dislike Gillard now have the perfect stick to beat her with.

This unlikely alliance of the liberal left and the anti-Gillard right could be the biggest possible bloc of support for equality.   

This story rings true for several reasons … Continue reading →

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