SINCE the Supreme Court of the United States delivered its landmark decision to allow two people of the same sex to marry one another, the hard-right conservatives of the Liberal Party have undertaken their own coming-out stories in a co-ordinated media approach.
Several senior cabinet ministers opposed to marriage equality have come out and made it seem as though they don’t want to see Tony Abbott as prime minister after the next election.
One after the other, Eric Abetz, Cory Bernardi and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells released statements condoning traditional marriage and supporting the notion of a nuclear family.
But not only did they give the bird to the gay and lesbian community, they called for their fellow heterosexual Liberal cabinet members who supported equality to lose their jobs. As the saying goes: if you can't win the debate, end it.
It’s a lot easier for three senators who aren’t elected by a constituency to make such ill-conceived claims.
In the lead-up to the 2016 election, they don’t need to convince an electorate that they are the right person, they just need to tell the party faithful that they aren’t the wrong one – chalk and cheese.
But nonetheless, they continue to put Abbott government re-election hopes on the line in marginal seats across the country.
From the Central Coast to Southern Perth and everywhere in between – this is an issue at the forefront of many people’s minds.
With the support for marriage equality being so high across the nation, there is emerging only one reason why conservative MPs stand opposed to change – they don’t want a Prime Minister Abbott come 2017.
Be it a wild conspiracy theory or not, if the Liberal/National parties seek to make marriage equality an election issue, ipso facto they will lose to their Labor counterparts nine times out of 10 – a result that could seriously derail any hopes of governing beyond next year.
In no part am I suggesting that the Liberal Party adopts a policy agenda of popular politics – because marriage equality isn’t one of those issues.
Sexuality isn’t a phase, it isn’t fashionable and definitely not something you can change – to suggest contrary to this flies in the face of the many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LBGTI) Australians who have lived this experience their whole lives.
Alternatively, the Liberal Party needs to have a grown-up, sensible and fair discussion about not only granting a free vote across the parliamentary team, but granting two Australians the right to consensually engage in marriage with the person they love. It seems pretty simple to me.
But, unlike those outspoken conservatives, I want to see a re-elected Abbott government in 2016. I want to see the party that I support continue with its plan to support small business and give Australians a fair go.
I want a stronger economy, where real growth creates more jobs and I want a safer and more secure Australia.
But first, we need to act on marriage equality and there has never been a better time than now.
