Gay Australian Senator Slams Government Position on Same-Sex Marriage Debate
A gay senator delivered a fiery attack on the Australian government’s bill for plebiscite on same-sex marriage in Parliament on August 9, shortly before the controversial bill was struck down again on technical grounds.
Labor Senator Penny Wong, who has two children with her partner and was the first openly gay politician in federal politics, said the proposed plebiscite exposed children to “hatred.” The plebiscite, a non-binding national referendum, has been repeatedly torched in Parliament and on Wednesday the Senate voted to not restore it, meaning the next step in the debate will be in the form of a postal plebiscite.
During the lead-up to the vote, Wong unleashed blistering commentary tempered by years of impediment from the Coalition government. In particular, she singled out comments made by Mathias Cormann and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said the debate around same-sex marriage was, and could, be civil.
“Have a read of some of the things which are said about us and our families and then come back here and tell us this is a unifying moment,” Wong said.
“Let me say, for many children in same-sex couple parented families and for many young LGBTI kids, this ain’t a respectful debate already.”
Wong added that the Australian Christian Lobby, whose director once drew parallels between same-sex marriage advocates and the rise by Nazi Germany, referred to the children of gay couples as “the stolen generation”; the term refers to indigenous and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcefully separated from their parents by white Australians between 1910-1970.
A majority of Australians, including Turnbull, support same-sex marriage, but efforts have been hampered by a minority of conservative MPs led by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was ousted as party leader in 2015. Credit: Australian Parliament House via Storyful
