Malcolm Turnbull will stick with marriage equality plebiscite if leadership challenge successful
SOURCES have told the Star Observer that should Malcolm Turnbull win the impending Liberal Party leadership challenge he will stick with the party position on supporting a plebiscite on marriage equality.
The news comes after the Wentworth federal Liberal MP — whose Sydney electorate includes some of Australia’s most LGBTI-centric suburbs — announced earlier today that he has resigned as Communications Minister and will challenge Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a leadership ballot.
Turnbull has been a longterm vocal supporter of marriage equality, and stated his support for the Liberals to adopt a conscience vote on the issue in the lead-up to the Coalition party room meeting in August that rejected it.
However, sources close to Turnbull have told the Star Observer that at this stage, he would stick with the “party position on a plebiscite on marriage equality” should he be successful in taking the top job from Abbott.
Longman federal Coalition MP Wyatt Roy, the youngest MP in Federal Parliament from Queensland who has also voiced his support for marriage equality and a conscience vote, has reportedly declared he would support Turnbull in the leadership ballot.
Last week, the Victorian and NSW gay and lesbian rights lobbies released the results of a joint survey that confirmed 70 per cent of respondents were against a plebiscite.
News of the Liberal leadership spill prompted Australian Marriage Equality (AME) to to seek urgent meeting with Turnbull should he become PM.
“Having the leaders of both major federal parties supporting marriage equality would be a first and we hope it would set the reform on a positive path forward,” AME national director Rodney Croome said in a statement.
“Should Malcolm Turnbull become Prime Minister we will seek an urgent meeting with him to chart an appropriate way forward on a reform that he knows is important and urgent.
“Our preferred path forward remains a free vote in parliament this year.”
The LGBT community and other people who support equal marriage are not afraid of a plebiscite, it’s just that we see it for what it is – an expensive, non-binding opinion poll. And a stalling tactic! They should settle this in parliament. We already know how people feel.
Fascinating Turnbull had no plebiscite, no people’s choice for him! Surely what is good for the goose is good for the gander? Not if you’re in team Liberal it seems. Hypocrite politicians, here we go again. When some have come down from the enormous high ofTony Abbott copping a thumping, they can watch the first press conference of our dear new leader. Turnbull took two questions from a WA journo and ignored the equality question. Conservative Christian Scott Morrison and his congregation in the LNP, have signed up to Turnbull with a particular string attached that Turnbull kick the equality can into the land of the Never Never. This slippery deal to destroy the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Australians, and allow hate speech all the way through a plebiscite, will cost the lives of some doing it tough. It is Grim Reaper politics and it is ugly. In the UK for instance, there was a huge increase in hate crimes, while the push for equality in the law moved through parliament. We have the same music coming out of team Liberal, just a different conductor. That is all that has changed as far as our push for equality goes. Marriage Apartheid is to stay under the Turnbull Morrison deal. Perhaps what this really shows though, is how big Turnbull’s political bubble actually is. Take for example the narrative spruiked by the chap about exciting times. When Gillard took power, the narrative was she was a dishonest woman, her father died of shame and all that ugly talk. I was no fan of Gillard, but the misogyny from the LNP here is breathtaking and so is the hypocrisy.
Why is the LGBT community afraid of a plebiscite? Do they think the majority of people would vote against it? It’s the people who should have a say on the matter not the pollies.
The LGBT community doesn’t want Australians cut from the same cloth as Cory Bernadi and Eric Abetz to come out from the woodwork spewing all kinds of vile homophobic nonsense that will achieve nothing but place an already at risk group – LGBT youths – at even greater risk of self harm.
We don’t have a direct vote on environmental policy, going to war or raising taxes. Why this?
Turnbull is another ego maniac who has promised to fuck over GLBTI people in return for being called Prime Minister. It is a shame this seems to be a requirement for the keys to the lodge.