Posts Tagged: Penny Wong

Australia / Campaigns / Marriage / Politicians — 1 Comment
23
Aug 11

GILLARD MEETS ADVOCATES

AME meets Gillard 

In an Australian first, marriage equality advocates have met Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to put their case for reform. 

Attending the meeting were former Australian Medical Association President, Kerryn Phelps and her wife, Jackie Stricker-Phelps, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) national spokesperson, Shelley Argent, Australian Marriage Equality (AME) campaign director, Rodney Croome, and same-sex mental health specialist, Paul Martin.

Professor Phelps and Mrs Stricker-Phelps said they told the Prime Minister about the pain of not having their overseas marriage recognised in Australia and gave her letters written by their children about the need for equality. Professor Phelps said, “I am very pleased we have opened a dialogue with the Prime Minister and hope to continue to talk to her about this issue”. Mr Croome emphasised the importance of marriage equality as a way of promoting inclusion and participation in family life and told the Prime Minister she has a historic opportunity to make Australian a more just and equitable nation. “In response to reports that the Labor Party may adopt a conscience vote on marriage equality before the National Conference has a chance to deal with the issue in December, the Prime Minister gave us an assurance there will be a debate on marriage equality at the National Conference”, Mr Croome said. Mr Martin spoke to the Prime Minister about the link between mental health, internalised homophobia and the inability to marry. “I felt Ms Gillard listened respectfully and seemed to take on board what I was saying. She accepted information about marriage equality and mental health from a recent statement by the American Psychological Association.” 

Said Argent: “I felt Ms Gillard listened … meeting gave me hope that if the (ALP) National Conference is positive on this issue she won’t stand in the way of marriage equality being presented to Parliament.”

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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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Australia / Politicians — No Comments
12
Feb 11

AUSTRALIA INCHES FORWARD

Tanya Plibersek

Gay marriage news from Australia this week is all good.  Another Cabinet minister has taken the Penny Wong approach – Tanya Plibersek (Minister for Human Services and MP for Sydney) has bided her time, undertaken a massive consultation with her inner city constituents and – surprise, surprise – found that they want equality and their reasons match her long-standing views on human rights and fairness. many will wonder why the hassle to reach such an obvious conclusion, but the political point is that Plibersek has now delivered a palatable model for all her colleagues to follow allowing them to come out publicly in favor of equality even when this is not party and government policy.

The deputy leader of the Conservative opposition, Julie Bishop, also looks to be heading down the same path. Despite voting to enshrine the current DOMA-like federal marriage inequality in 2004, bishop is now “open-minded” about change. it smells a little bit like the cat playing with the mouse. But it is more than we will ever get from the Opposition leader Tony Abbott so there is some reason to be grateful.

Meanwhile Australian Marriage Equality is out swinging with a new TV ad, to back up that of “Get Up”, and is cleverly arguing for civility and restraint in the debate on equality that will continue in 2011. It is clever because AME and others like this blog have always been civil, so it costs us nothing. But it may help to keep nasty opponents on a leash they would dearly love to be free of. perhaps now we can have the debate on its merits and free from the taint of silly associations between gay marriage and polygamy, bestiality, paedophilia and more.

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Australia / Politicians — No Comments
3
Sep 10

AUSTRALIAN GAYS WAITING AT THE ALTAR

Was it a good or bad election for the nation’s million or so gays and lesbians? Here’s my verdict, published by the National Times today (a joint venture of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age).  It’s going strong with the most comments of all opinion pieces today.

The start could hardly have been worse. Tony Abbott felt threatened by us, a Family First candidate linked gay marriage to child abuse, and Penny Wong sounded weak in defending Labor’s policy against marriage equality. Things started to look up when Greens’ vocal ‘equal love’ campaign was rewarded with a record vote. When Andrew Wilkie tabled a conscience vote on marriage as a priority the picture looked even better. Now the Labor-Greens agreement now leaves gays waiting (hopefully) at the altar.

The way forward is clearning a conscience vote on a Private Members Bill – but let’s not kid ourselves how tough that campaign will be …

(UPDATE: Good news in that the Greens promise to re-introduce Marriage Equality bill on first day of Parliament.)

Continue reading →

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Australia / Politicians — 5 Comments
28
Aug 10

AUSTRALIAN GREENS MUST HOLD LINE

Gillard and Brown

For a while it seemed like a bad election for Australia’s million or so gays and lesbians. Tony Abbott felt threatened by us, a Family First candidate linked gay marriage to child abuse, and Penny Wong looked weak in toeing the party line against marriage. With the Greens now potentially holding the balance of power in both houses of Parliament gay marriage has never been closer to the political centre stage.

The question concerning supporters of marriage equality is whether the Greens will reward their faith while negotiating with Labor.  Is gay marriage a core promise, we wonder? Continue reading →

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Australia / Parents / Parenting — 3 Comments
17
Aug 10

AUSTRALIA REALLY IS MOVING

Australia’s major political parties might be struggling to understand what equality means … but watch this.  This is a fairly typical Australian man, who has changed his views on gay people and marriage because of a family experience.

Change is coming when people like him start speaking out on national television.

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Asia / Australia / Lesbian / Politicians — 37 Comments
27
Jul 10

BEING PENNY WONG

Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

Australian Senator Penny Wong with partner Sophie Allouache

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  As of November 2010 Penny Wong publicly announced her long-standing private support for gay marriage. A long time coming, but very very welcome nonetheless

After recent disappointing comments on gay marriage by Julia Gillard and Penny Wong I didn’t think I would be saying this … but I almost feel sorry for Penny Wong.

Why?  Don’t spit – please read on for a minute.

I’ve been reading American websites call her personally ‘despicable’ (what would they know personally about an Australian senator?), readers of this blog called her a ‘bitch’, on Facebook there were plenty of racist comments made on several gay rights pages. Not to mention all the related homophobic crap that is probably piling into her inbox from all angles.

And for what …  telling us what we already knew the Labor party’s policy to be on gay marriage. What else was she going to say in the middle of an election campaign?  And would we have attacked her straight male colleagues in the same way if they said the same thing? I bet not. So how is that fair? Continue reading →

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