Tony Abbott’s refusal to allow the Federal Parliament to move ahead with marriage equality is out of touch with the Australian public and a further denial of basic equality and respect for LGBTI people.
Tony Abbott continues to deny the lived reality of thousands of loving couples and families across this country.
Denying recognition of the significance of these partnerships excludes them from full participation as equal members of society. This decision hurts families.
The majority of Australians support marriage equality and are embarrassed that Australia now lags behind the UK, the USA, Canada, Spain, Ireland and many other countries on this issue.
The Andrews Labor Government supports marriage equality. Genuine equality can only be achieved through amending the federal Marriage Act so that couples, regardless of gender and regardless of the state or territory in which they live, are treated equally by the law.
Tony Abbott’s use of ‘tricky processes’ to try to keep us locked in the past a little longer is only delaying the inevitable. This kind of prejudice is no longer acceptable in a modern Australia.
Suggestions of a plebiscite are simply another delay tactic, one that would come at a cost of millions of tax-payer dollars. The Federal Parliament needs to do its job and legislate for equality.
To all those people across Victoria and Australia who have experienced this as a personal blow, the Andrews Labor Government stands with you, and millions of your fellow Australians do too.
While this battle has not been won today, it will be won. Tony Abbott and his dwindling band of supporters cannot stand in the way of a global movement for change.
Reviewed 19 August 2020