Young blood keeps Democrats’ hopes alive

Contributor
April 20, 2008

The new brood of Australian Democrats candidates will present a fresh face on a long-standing commitment to same-sex equality when we next go to the polls.

Young Australian Democrats NSW president Edward Okulicz, 26, said the party was a victim of its own success in winning over the mainstream to unpopular causes.

We don’t have that monopoly that we once did -“ nowadays everybody wants a piece of the same-sex pie. Even Malcolm Turnbull tries to paint himself as a cuddly bear figure, Okulicz said.

When we were the only party taking on same-sex issues, we were the natural choice for gay and lesbian people.

But there wasn’t a gay exodus now other parties supported same-sex reforms, Okulicz said.

The new generation of openly gay candidates includes Clinton Barnes, 22, in Mackellar, and Tim Wright, 22, in Melbourne and who helped run the Democrats’ ad hoc inquiry into same-sex issues earlier month.

There’s a big misconception that the Democrats are dying. That we have so many young people participating is in direct contradiction to that myth, Wright said.

We started the first inquiry into vilification and discrimination against gays and lesbians in 1996. I think it’s hitting people that we could lose this great force in Australian politics, Barnes added.

The straight-identifying young candidates have taken just as much interest in promoting the party’s Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Bill.

Pierce Field, 18, joined the party earlier this year and was endorsed as the candidate for Wentworth, taking on incumbent Liberal member Malcolm Turnbull and high-profile Labor candidate George Newhouse.

People may say I’m too young, but there’s no point jumping up and down on issues and not doing anything about them. That’s why I’m running, Field said.

We need to get these HREOC recommendations put into law. After that I see the Democrats going down that path to same-sex marriage. It’s not unfeasible, but we have to start somewhere.