PM sets dinner date
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has finally set a date for a dinner with three same-sex couples that was won by progressive activist group GetUp at a Canberra press gallery charity auction in June this year.
GetUp spent $31,000 to win the dinner for six with the Prime Minister at the Lodge, which will now occur on February 21 – a week after Valentines Day.
And in what may be an olive branch to the marriage equality movement, Gillard has also invited Australian Marriage Equality national convenor Alex Greenwich to the dinner along with the three couples.
Greenwich said the dinner would be used to thank Gillard for allowing a real debate at the ALP National Conference whichresulted in a change to the Labor Party Platform, to share stories about why marriage was important to same-sex couples and their families and friends, and to assure the Prime Minister that advocates understood the importance of churches being able to marry or not marry couples in accordance with their faiths.
“The Prime Minister like many Australians is continuing the conversation on marriage equality,” Greenwich told the Star Observer.
“We look forward to sharing with her the important meaning marriage has to us, our families and our communities.
“We also look forward to addressing any concerns she may have about the proposed legislation and give her the assurance that we share her concern and respect for the freedom of religion.”
An initial deadline of 11 to 16 days after the auction passed in early July, but Gillard’s delay in delivering on a Canberra press gallery auction prize is well short of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott who waited 323 days before delivering on a pledge to give a surfing lesson to an Afghan refugee last year – with that winning bid also made by GetUp.
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Rob – Labor voting as a block cannot deliver SSM. They do not have a majority and even with the Green and Andrew Wilkie,Labor would still need some Liberals to cross the floor to get SSM through.
(read the debate on SSM last August and you will see the other independents did not support SSM)
Even if this were to happen (which it wouldnt for a lot of other reasons) – Tony Abbott would go to the election promising to repeal SSM if elected.
And in all this, where is Turnbull?? A pink electorate and he is opposed to SSM!! If you want to bring some pressure, lets show the Pink vote can turn out this mongrel.
@ben .. the only reason we need to petition Abbott for a LNP conscience vote is because that is the approach Labor has adopted (a strategic move on their part to ensure same-sex marriage DOES NOT get up).
We need to behave just as strategically, manouevre around Gillard’s attempt to block the change, and bring as much support as possible to bear in the Parliament.
Had Labor taken an “all or nothing” approach (as they do with every other piece of legislation) then there would be no need to call on the LNP for a conscience vote.
It would appear that you are the one who does not understand, but instead reacts emotionally.
(for what it is worth, I am normally highly critical of Australian political parties demands that MPs vote along party lines – this is not democratic. I would prefer to see all votes as “conscience votes” – as they are in most other democratic countries (eg UK and USA). Had Labor adopted their normal process though it would have worked in our favour (which is why, of course, Gillard ensured it didn’t go that way). However, given these are the cards we have been dealt; this is what we have to work with.)
So Rob1966 is demanding a conscience vote from the Libs – but hates Labor for having a conscience (yep, that’s a really credible strategy!). Davo thinks gays and lesbians can deliver dozens of seats to the Greens – and thinks Malcolm Turnbull, the bloke along with Joe d Bruyn, who has declared himself against Same Sex Marriage will help our cause!
DocAnt, I could kiss you for understanding, as opposed to reacting.
The other posts seem to miss the point: Australia for the foreseeable future will either elect a Labor government or a Lib-Nat coalition. There will only be same-sex marriage under a Labor government (+/- the greens). At least a third of current ALP MPs are against it, as are 2/3rds of Libs, and ALL of the Nationals MPs. The PM is dealing with the reality she faces: progressing the issue without fracturing the government. She will not stand in our way, if the parliament votes for same-sex marriage, it will happen. Abbott as PM will NOT let it happen. So its up to us to lobby individual MPs, and bring the wider community with us. Our PM is progressing the issue in a realistic way, and deserves some credit.
sorry, but our only hope for same sex marriage lies with rolling ms juliar and replacing as many labor seats as possible with Greens seats.
The other thing that needs to be done it to make sure abbott gets replaced with someone sypathetic – Turnbull would probably do the job.
These things are in our reach and very doable – we just need to be single minded and get this done – then we can move on to other things.
we only got this close because labor had to do deals with the Greens.
that she is honoring this meal at such a late date is nothing she should be commended for
honestly, she works for us, not the other way round.
@DocAnt .. Julia Gillard will nto stand in our way? Really?
So that’s why GetUp had to pay $10,000 for marriage equality advocates to get a meeting with Julia Gillard; yet Tony Abbott freely met with marriage equality advocates many months ago?
So that’s why Gillard engineered a means of allowing a change in labor policy, but ensuring it was done in such a way that the same-sex marriage will not become possible.
Yeah, Gillard isn’t standing in our way at all!
I agree that Abbott will not change his position on marriage – but one should not expect him to, he is a Catholic after all.
However, we should be petitioning Abbott to allow a free conscience vote for the Opposition if we want any chance of marriage equality happening in the next few years; instead of pretending that Gillard has actually done anythign to help us at all, she hasn’t.
Excellent news. The haters will be up in arms, but we PAID for this date with Julia, and they’ve never had to.
Our only chance at Marriage equality this decade rests with a Labor government, and most likely with this PM. Julia Gillard will not stand in our way, Tony Abbott will.