Gay marriage debate hits home

The Illawarra has emerged as a key battleground in the national debate on same-sex marriage.Equal-marriage advocates will be in Wollongong next month to shore up support for Labor MP Stephen Jones’ stance on the issue.Mr Jones, the Member for Throsby, faces a divided electorate and a resistant Labor Party as he prepares his history-making private member’s bill aimed at legalising same sex marriage.Peak advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality (AME) will hold a meeting in the city early next month to rally support for Mr Jones and help balance what it says has been a one-sided debate in the Illawarra.Mr Jones is approaching a critical point in his campaign. The Coalition has indicated it will not allow its MPs a conscience vote until the next election. Mr Jones, who has previously suggested he was prepared to wait for the Coalition to change its mind, said he didn’t intend to put off introducing his bill for that long. AME said it would give the Coalition another two months to decide on a conscience vote before considering ‘‘further options’’, which it wouldn’t disclose.The issue has divided Mr Jones’ Throsby electorate where about 40 per cent both support and oppose changes to the law, according to an August 2010 poll. There’s also been internal party dissent. Last month Wollongong MP Noreen Hay won an internal party vote undermining Mr Jones’ position.AME national convener Alex Greenwich said several speakers would come to Wollongong in a bid to encourage discussion.‘‘What we are doing to help Stephen is we are holding a workshop forum which will ... help him sell the importance [of legalising same-sex marriage] to the electorate,’’ Mr Greenwich said.‘‘It is important for people like Stephen that the electorate understands that this is not an issue of Left versus Right, Labor versus Liberal or God versus gay - this is a reform that affects people across the country and it is important for people from coast to coast.’’Mr Jones said the meeting would help balance the debate in the Illawarra, which was weighted towards maintaining the status quo.‘‘We’ve heard over the last few years plenty from those who oppose same-sex marriage ... those who advocate change must be equally as active in putting forward their views as well.’’Senior Labor Party member David Hamilton, who has opposed Mr Jones’ stance, said same-sex advocates should have been trying to make their case before Mr Jones announced his stance.‘‘Why didn’t they test community [opinion] first, before they start beating the drum,’’ he said.