Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Abbott scuttles gay marriage AGAIN - cements Lieberals as dinosaurs

Sadly, it seems I was right. There will never be marriage equality in Australia with Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

 Yesterday was typical Abbott bastardry against the LGBT community, infuriating even his own Lieberal moderate party members in favour of gay marriage. Members of his own party are accusing him of an ambush, and stacking the votes.

 So yesterday it went like this. Entsch raises the issue in the Lieberal party room meeting, thinking that it would be dealt with there as promised by Abbott. Abbott (to audible gasps in the room) says that it will be dealt with by a joint party room meeting with the National party, which makes up the coalition to govern. This wasn't what Abbott promised, and it was obvious Abbott was stacking the votes against the LGBT. The National party is a country party very conservative and most of them right against us.

 Whether the Lieberal party meeting would have voted for a conscience vote in parliament on their own or not we will never know. Abbott never gave it a chance. Instead he made absolutely sure by including the conservative Nationals in the decision that the vote would be stacked against Lieberals of conscience.

The result was predictable. About two thirds of the joint party room meeting voted for straight marriage to the exclusion of all others. Completely 180degrees against Australian public opinion. We will now be going to the election with a crystal clear choice on marriage equality; vote either Greens or Labor and it will happen. Vote Lieberal and it wont.

 It has been another Abbott captains call, albeit on this occasion it meant using his captaincy to politically maneuver the result to what he wanted. Like a spoilt child who always had everything he wanted, he wanted this result. Relying on the last hold outs of conservatism in the dark corners of the Lieberal National parties, ignoring the public, to massage his fears of the LGBT. 

How's that then? Big tough shirtfront Abbott, national security guy, afraid of a few poofs getting married. The guy has a serious sexual identity problem. He obviously doesn't feel strong enough in his sexuality and feels threatened by gays. He has put his own sexual fears above the interests of his party and the Australian community.

 Now that he's got his decision, he's told the Lieberals if they cross the floor on this they'll be sacked:
COALITION frontbenchers who defy the agreed position to oppose gay marriage will be sacked, Tony Abbott says.

 The Prime Minister this morning said if maverick MP Warren Entsch’s cross-party bill to legalise same-sex marriage did come to a vote in the parliament, ministers and parliamentary secretaries who voted for it would be demoted.

“It is nevertheless the standard position of our party that if a frontbencher cannot support the party’s policy, that person has to leave the frontbench,” Mr Abbott told ABC radio.

 But Queensland Liberal National MP Warren Entsch who has pushed for marriage equality says he believes several of his colleagues will cross the floor to vote in favour of his same-sex marriage bill should it come to a vote.

 “I think there will be a handful of people on my side that will vote for this,” Mr Entsch told News Corp Australia this morning.

 “Absolutely I will be crossing the floor. But even with some support I don’t think the support is there to see it succeed.” more
Some party room reactions: 

The 3:15pm meeting, which broke for half an hour around 5pm before resuming, saw a succession of MPs speaking with a strong majority of some 25 to 7 favouring the status quo.

 But pro-change MPs were livid that the debate was suddenly brought forward, and even more incensed that the socially conservative junior coalition partner the Nationals were invited to participate.

 "This is so obviously a thumb in the eye to the pro-equality Liberals because Abbott knew he had the numbers to win without bringing in the Nats," said one Liberal.

 "Abbott has totally lost sight of the politics," said another insider.

 "A number of Liberals could lose their seats over this, because about 70 per cent of Australians want change and now it's only Labor that can promise it."

 "This meeting is stacked," said another Liberal. Read more
Australian Marriage Equality reaction:

 Last night the PM kicked the ‪#‎MarriageEquality‬ can down the road again saying there may be a ‪#‎FreeVote‬ in the next term of parliament but indicated, before any vote, he may start the process for a plebiscite.

 This debate has taken too long and shouldn't take further years.

 No plebiscite should be owned by the government, nor should the issue remain at the whim of the PM.

 If a plebiscite is coming, it needs to happen sooner, not later. It needs to inform the next government, whichever party that may be.

 We've already started drafting the legislation for a plebiscite to be held at the next election. It will show what every other poll has in the last seven years.

 Australians want reform and, together, ‪#‎WeCanDoThis‬ more
Tony Abbott saying he's threatened by gays: 

 

Meanwhile, my own daughter is getting married this year. Me, her father, cannot. 


 
 




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