This very morning, opposition leader Bill Shorten introduced a private member bill calling for marriage equality in Australia to the House of Representatives.
Whether it’s an attempt to undermine or overthrow current, snails-pace Liberal plans for a plebiscite on the matter or a genuine call for change, it’s about bloody time.
Australia is behind the world where marriage equality is concerned, and any step in the right direction is a welcome change to recent attitudes.
While its no secret that a huge amount of Australians would support marriage equality for LGBTQIA citizens, it remains to be seen how the parliamentary members in the House of Reps tee up.
Speaking to the House, Shorten said:
“Marriage is about love, not gender. It’s up to us to summon the courage and show the decency to make this happen.”
He called upon Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to support the bill. given his comments during the election campaign in favour of equality, although Turnbull has recently become quiet on such matters as the Liberal party pushes the plebiscite.
A public plebiscite on the subject of marriage equality would cost the government a pretty penny, and after this year’s teeny tiny census mishap, the Liberal party doesn’t stand on the strongest ground when it comes to nationwide organisational matters.
