There is one simple reason why Australia’s marriage laws need to change: because such laws discriminate against a particular section of society, namely those members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community who wish to marry their loving, same-sex partners.
Discrimination is unjust. Therefore the Australian Marriage Act should change.
Marriage equality has already been achieved in numerous countries overseas, including The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the UK and the USA. Australia is lagging behind.
Some opponents of marriage equality would argue that we should not change the definition of marriage, but this ignores the fact that the concept of marriage has already changed over time. We no longer insist a widow marries her brother-in-law, as was once the case under Biblical law; nor is marriage still viewed as a means of enforcing alliances or transferring property between families. Times have changed. Our definition of marriage needs to change with it.
At least two thirds of Australians agree that marriage equality matters. Indeed, the Liberal Party’s go-to research company, Crosby/Textor, has found that 72% of the public already support the issue, according to Australian Marriage Equality.
Despite this (and despite the fact that the Federal Parliament already has the power to change marriage legislation – indeed, it has already done so once before in 2004, with the full support of the Opposition and without all the bother of a plebiscite or a postal vote) we now face a painful, protracted and divisive debate around marriage equality.
Organisations like the telephone counselling service, Switchboard Victoria, are already preparing for a spike in calls from anxious members of the LGBTI community who have been alarmed by the tone of the debate, to date.
Hate-speech posters attacking the gay and lesbian community and apparently connected to an Australian neo-Nazi organisation have also been sighted this week.
The tone of debate is already toxic and is likely to get worse. Members of the LGBTI community will need your care and your support in the coming weeks.
The Federal Government are dragging their feet on this issue. Beholden to a conservative minority, the option of Parliament simply changing the law has been delayed until the Australian population can be surveyed on the issue.
With the Government’s preferred option of a plebiscite twice rejected by the Senate, the second option is now a postal survey, to be conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and costing $122 million.
Just imagine how many imaginative arts projects could be funded with $122 million.
Even if the majority of Australians vote ‘yes’ to the survey question, ‘Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?’, the law will not necessarily change.
Parliament still needs to vote on a marriage equality bill before such marriages can become legal in Australia. If a Yes vote is returned, the Government will give its MPs a conscience vote on the issue. While many Government MPs have pledged to follow the result of the postal survey, others have said they will ignore it.
The numbers in Parliament suggest it is highly likely – though not 100% guaranteed – that marriage equality will become law if the conscience vote proceeds. Time will tell.
Time is short, however, for those Australians who wish to vote in the marriage equality postal survey.
To participate in the survey you need to be eligible and correctly enrolled by this Thursday 24 August 2017.
If you are not yet enrolled to vote you can do so here. If you have recently moved house or believe your details have changed in some other way, you can confirm your current electoral enrolment details here. It takes only minutes to check your eligibility. Please do it today.
Assuming that the two separate High Court cases challenging the validity of the postal vote are unsuccessful (they will be heard in Melbourne on 5-6 September) the timeline for voting is as follows:
12 September: The mail-out of the postal survey begins.
11 October: Requests for replacement surveys close.
27 October: The date by which voters are encouraged to return their forms. Including glitter in the envelopes is not advised – it may invalidate your survey.
7 November: The cut-off date after which responses will no longer be processed.
15 November: The result of the postal vote will be released.
Here at ArtsHub, we do not believe the postal vote is necessary – our Federal representatives should be able to vote on this issue directly and immediately. That is why they are our elected officials. Furthermore, it is a flawed option and likely to disenfranchise the homeless and those living in remote Indigenous communities.
Nonetheless, if the postal vote proceeds, we urge the Australian arts community to unite on this issue and vote ‘yes’. It’s time for change in this country. It’s time all Australians were equal under the law.
