Julia Gillard has effectively killed off the prospect of marriage equality by ruling out government legislation to amend the Marriage Act and instead calling for a conscience vote that’s guaranteed to fail.
Ms Gillard has consistently opposed the growing support for marriage equality.
Consistent polls over the last two years show an increasing public support for marriage equality as well as a majority of support from State Labor parties, and from within the ranks of the ALP at federally.
Despite this majority of support for marriage equality, the iron lady has consistently rejected calls for the marriage act to be amended to allow same sex couples to marry, employing the royal we to declare that “we believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”
It’s a belief that is completely out of step well, with the rest of Australia and most of the developed world.
Gillard has been roundly condemned for refusing to budge on the issue, particularly attracting the ire of Doug Cameron who believes that fundamentally Labor should be a progressive party that is charged with the responsibility of removing discrimination against marginalised minorities.
Gillard has said that she will allow Labor MPs a conscience vote if a private members’ bill is introduced to the parliament in favour of marriage equality.
However a conscience vote on gay marriage will almost certainly fail as some members of the Labor Party have already indicated they will oppose it and the Coalition is determined to block it.
It’s a political cop out by any stretch of the imagination.
Senator Cameron described the conscience vote as a “tactical manoeuvre” by the PM that was “not appropriate.”
