The Illawarra’s ‘rainbow community’ will welcome the thwarting of a national plebiscite on same-sex marriage, as the vote threatened to stir up homophobic sentiment and legitimise government inaction on the issue, an area advocate says.
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The Federal Government’s proposed plebiscite was defeated 29-33 in the Senate late Monday, after Labor, the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and Derryn Hinch combined to kill off the proposal, which would have brought about a February plebiscite.
Unity Illawarra and South Coast president Robert Kandalaft welcomed Monday’s outcome, despite suggestions the decision has set back the rainbow cause “years”.
“The process of going to a plebiscite would seriously divide the community,” Mr Kandalaft said.
“It would make homophobic slurs and scaremongering socially acceptable, because the government would be setting up the process of a debate of equal rights.
“Why, in any country, should we have to beg to be treated the same?”
In the lead-up to Monday’s vote, Attorney General George Brandis – who once opposed the policy – spoke in its favour, warning “the cause of marriage equality will be delayed for years” if a plebiscite was defeated.
Mr Kandalaft rejected this suggestion.
He condemned the Prime Minister for not allowing a conscience vote on the issue.
“The process now falls into the Prime Minister’s hands,” he said.
“He’s been avoiding the process of an in-house vote – a conscience vote – because basically he’s too busy worrying about losing funding and popularity, as opposed to leading the country.
“Does the Prime Minister go to the toilet and become overwhelmed with the process of scrunching and folding?
“To be a good leader you sometimes need to make decisions that aren’t popular.
“He’s a gutless wonder.”
In the wake of Monday night’s senate vote, Australian Marriage Equality chairman Alex Greenwich told Fairfax Media his group’s focus would now shift towards bringing about a parliamentary vote on the issue before the the next election.
“The past 12 months has been a very difficult time for the LGBTI community,” Mr Greenwich said.
“We now need to make sure we channel the frustration of the plebiscite into passionate advocacy to achieve this reform.”