Page 2649 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 10 August 2016
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Those statistics, as shocking as they are, have nothing to do with being gay or lesbian or any of the other points on the sexuality spectrum and have everything to do with the social prejudice, discrimination and violence that is perpetrated against lesbians, gay men and bisexual people simply for being themselves.
While we do support the case for marriage equality, I also have to say that the ACT Greens believe that the federal government’s proposal for a plebiscite is a completely unnecessary one. We know that the Australian public is ready for equality. You only have to look at the opinion polls to know that Australians overwhelmingly support this reform. We believe that the plebiscite, at an estimated $160 million, is an expensive exercise that we do not need, particularly when we do not even know if it will be binding on members. We have seen some members indicate that.
I believe that if a free vote were held on the floor of federal parliament on its first sitting day later this month, marriage equality would undoubtedly be written into law. The plebiscite seems as though it serves no purpose other than to appease certain conservative forces on the backbench of the federal government.
If a prolonged and drawn-out popular vote on this issue is something that the federal government does choose to proceed with, the Greens would ask that the Prime Minister show leadership, ensure that the plebiscite is written and that the process is conducted in such a way that it does not result in members of the LGBTIQ community being vilified simply for being who they are.
If a national conversation is to take place, it should be a respectful one. The journey towards equality has involved many hundreds of thousands of activists, community members, families, mums and dads and parliamentarians. Should this plebiscite come to fruition, I have no doubt that the push for equality will see many hundreds of thousands more get involved to make history.
I know that Australians value a fair go and they value the notion of equality before the law. They are values that are completely compromised by marriage discrimination. That is what it is. It is a form of discrimination and that is why the Greens do not accept the position that marriage is a fixed thing. It is why we believe we do not need a plebiscite. It is because we believe it is a form of discrimination that parliament should simply do away with.
I will be supporting Ms Burch’s motion today. I listened to Mr Hanson’s words while I was upstairs and I have looked at his amendment. Whilst the sentiment of Mr Hanson’s motion is fine, I actually support the stronger motion that has been put by Ms Burch. Mr Hanson’s amendment removes many of the stronger elements—in fact, all the elements—of Ms Burch’s motion. I actually agree with the comments that Ms Burch has made that we do actually call on the Australian parliament to simply resolve the issue through a free vote of all members of parliament.
I do not believe that a plebiscite is necessary or is warranted for the reasons that I have stated earlier today. I am quite happy with paragraph 3 that says that if the federal parliament determines to hold a marriage equality plebiscite, the
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