New faces for marriage

As a conservative UK government pushes ahead with marriage equality, Australian Marriage Equality’s (AME) new Victorian co-convenors say Australia is falling behind the times.

Co-convenor Christine Cooke said existing opposition to the past marriage equality bills made no sense as the spin-off would solve many lingering human rights issues for LGBTI people.

Cooke and her fellow co-convenor Tim Peppard have taken over the local side of lobbying after former head Carl Katter stepped down last month.

For Peppard, he said it was embarrassing where we were when New Zealand, England and France were likely to have the new laws passed in their parliaments this year.

“I became active last year when I saw the vote was not going to succeed in parliament and I got very angry that certain politicians were mis-representing the support that does exist in the wider community and betraying as a marginal issue when it is not,” Peppard said

“We have to remember, in Victoria, it was a Liberal government who decriminalised the law in 1981 – it’s not a left-right issue but the Liberal government in Victoria seems to have forgotten that, under Dick Hamer, they decriminalised [homosexuality],” he said.

Cooke and Peppard will be working hard this year, with their first priority will be encouraging voters to make marriage equality a major factor in their voting decision.

“We’re extremely optimistic… our role within this next 12 months, before the election anyway, is to rally a strong voice,” Cooke said.

Peppard said AME would be busy this year reminding politicians in marginal electorates that marriage equality would be a major factor for voters in the Federal election.

On state-based marriage, Peppard said they would try anything to get marriage equality through.

“In Canada, it began as provincial or each province having marriage equality before it became federal law,” he said.

“If we need to do that here, we will.”

AME Victoria have collected several thousand signatures through petitions which they will present to the Victorian Legislative Council later this year, Cooke said.

In a statement from the former head, Katter said he had been proud of his work with AME.

“I am proud of my role in establishing AME Victoria, but I feel it is important for me to channel my energy for LGBTI human rights into my work within the Labor Party,” he said.