OPINION
FINALLY, Julie Bishop is out of the closet.
Quizzed by Carrie Bickmore on The Project last night on her views on same-sex marriage, the deputy Liberal leader said, “I have absolutely no concerns about it myself but I know that there are a lot of people who are deeply concerned about the issue”.
We know that Ms Bishop loves to communicate in emojis. And certainly at first blush her announcement seems to be rainbow flag/smiley face/champagne glass.
Indeed, the co convener of Australian Marriage Equality, Rodney Croome, reacted by saying, “We are now only seven votes short of a majority in parliament.”
But, as the decision won’t be decided in parliament, Ms Bishop’s statement is actually more like: rainbow flag/sad face/damp puddle.
It’s a slow hand clap for a decision that does precious little to bring the prospect of marriage equality any closer.
Fittingly, on the eve of Melbourne Cup day, the deputy leader was taking a two way bet on the issue. Saying she is personally in favour but it should be left up to the people to decide.
Makes sense right? Well, not when you consider same-sex marriage is not a constitutional issue and so has no more need to go to a public vote than, say, changes to pay entitlements for defence personnel or alterations to how work-related travel expenses are calculated on tax returns.
It is not a point lost on Mr Croome who goes on to say, “Our preference is for a vote in parliament because it will be quicker and cheaper.”
Granted, Ms Bishop’s support for marriage equality — however insipid it might sound — won’t harm the campaign in favour. It may even swing a few votes to the yes column for the plebiscite Australia doesn’t have to have.
But such a declaration would have been far more meaningful if it was made just a few short months ago. If, on a cold August night in Canberra huddled in the Coalition party room, Ms Bishop had bravely defied her then boss, former prime minister Tony Abbott, and voted in favour of a free vote for her fellow MPs it would have sent a clear and unequivocal message of support.
Talking to Huffington Post in August on her position, courageously sitting on the fence she remarked that, “I don’t want my personal views to become the issue.”
This is in stark contrast to others in her party, both for and against, who have made the far harder decision to actually state their views.
Witness long-time LGBTI supporter, the Liberal National member for Leichhardt in Northern Queensland, Warren Entsch. When he introduced his ultimately doomed marriage equality bill, he said, “a divided nation is what we will be if we continue to allow discrimination in relation to marriage on the basis of a person’s sexuality.” No sitting on the fence there.
The upcoming public vote, all $160 million of it, will give those who think gay people are just, you know, a bit icky, the cover of debate and discussion to air some decidedly unsavoury views.
It’s already happening. The anti-marriage lobby have been raising their hands to the heavens imploring us all to just think of the children. Despite the fact parents of the same gender have been raising perfectly well adjusted kids for years in Australia.
All you have to do is cast your mind back to September and the reception given to documentary Gayby Baby, a film that followed around a clutch of “rainbow families”, to see how debate on marriage equality could all spill into something much darker.
Ms Bishop could have helped to stop all of this. She could have been a voice advocating for MPs to be able do what they’re elected for and that’s to thrash out the issue within parliament.
By declaring her backing now, which is easy with a supporter of marriage equality in the Lodge and a plebiscite locked in, is no more useful than when Julie Gillard recently said that she was now all for gay people getting wed — several years after such a comment would have been of any actual use.
Her actions are too little, too late and smack of nothing more than wanting to be on the right side of history when marriage equality finally gallops over the finishing line.
No comments:
Post a Comment