|
News -
Australian News
|
|
Written by Alexander Thatcher | FUSE Editor
|
|
Monday, 10 October 2011 23:46 |
FAMILIES TO TELL ABBOTT: MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS ABOUT PEOPLE NOT POLITICS
Over sixty supporters of marriage equality will converge on Parliament House tomorrow to lobby MPs, including Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, who today ruled out a conscience vote on the issue.
Australian Marriage Equality National Convener, Alex Greenwich, said the message of the marriage equality supporters will be that the issue is about people not politics.
"Tomorrow, MPs will be visited by a wide range of same-sex partners, their family members, clergy and other supporters of equality, and they will have a united message that marriage equality is about real people with real lives, not politics and political point-scoring", Mr Greenwich said.
"As part of the lobbying day Tony Abbott will hopefully meet some of his constituents who support marriage equality and their message to him will be that the Coalition must have a conscience vote if it is to be true to its principles of individual conscience."
"A majority of Australians and a majority of Coalition voters support marriage equality and Coalition MPs should have the right to represent the views of these millions of voters."
"In denying his party a conscience vote, Mr Abbott is showing himself to be out of touch with the 75% of Coalition Voters who support a free vote" Mr Greenwich said reference a Galaxy Poll conducted late last year (details here)
According to a report in the Australian, Mr Abbott has ruled out a conscience vote on marriage equality even if Labor allows one, but there is also dissent within the Liberal Party on the issue. Details here.
National spokesperson for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Shelley Argent, who is also lobbying in Parliament House this week, also said,
"Our children's fundamental rights are at stake here and I think it's quite inappropriate for Mr Abbott to be playing politics with this important reform."
|
