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 Openly gay South Australian MP Ian Hunter (pictured) made an impassioned speech in the state's Legislative Council Wednesday June 17 calling on the Federal Government to introduce gay marriage. It follows a national opinion poll released Tuesday June 16 showing 60 per cent of Australians now believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
The poll, commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality (AME) and conducted by independently-owned Galaxy Research, was based on a sample of 1,100 randomly selected respondents from around Australia.
It found only 36 per cent of Australians oppose same-sex marriage, with four per cent undecided.
Hunter said the government was increasingly out of step with public opinion on the issue.
"Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he and his government believe that marriage should be maintained as the union between a man and a woman. If that’s his opinion – fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But to impose his personal beliefs on the rest of the community is just wrong," Hunter said in his speech.
He said the issue of partnership registration was no longer good enough.
"I am no longer content to accept the crumbs from the table. I am no longer willing to accept a reinforced second-class status. I am no longer prepared to accept a proposition that my married friends’ relationships are intrinsically superior to my relationship," Hunter said.
"I want to get married. Next year will be the twentieth anniversary of my not-being-married to my partner, Leith. Yes, I could travel to Massachusetts or South Africa and get married there. But that is not my preferred option: I want to share my marriage with my family and my friends – like we all do [...] and you, Mr Rudd, are stopping me."
Australian Marriage Equality national convenor Peter Furness said almost twice as many Australians now support equal marriage than oppose it.
“This poll scuttles the only rationale put forward by the Rudd Government for opposing equality – namely that a majority of Australians believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman,” he said.
SA Senator Sarah Hanson-Young told GayTAS the Greens welcomed the results, adding: “The community are streets ahead of the parliament in recognising the rights of same-sex couples to marry."
John Kloprogge of Equal Love (Canberra) said, "The Australian public are more accepting of diverse relationships than either of the major political parties.”
Support for same-sex marriage has been steadily growing since the Howard Government made Australia the first country in the world to specifically legislate against gay marriage in 2004.
Polls taken since have shown a steady increase in support for same-sex marriage from 38 per cent in a 2004 SBS Newspoll, to 57 per cent in a 2007 Galaxy Poll, to 60 per cent today.
“The Government has always avoided this topic by saying that the community did not support gay marriage,” Hunter said after his speech in Parliament. “That’s not a very convincing response any more.
“It is time for the Australian government to address this issue, and make marriage equality a reality for all Australians.”
To read the full text of Ian Hunter’s speech click here
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