Doug PollardEducation Minister Backs Gay Marriage
August 4th 2008 00:25
Bronwyn didn't pike it
The numbers may have been down – only about 300 turned out for this year’s Melbourne Equal Love Rally, well down on previous years – but two facts made it a memorable occasion.
The first was the large number of young people taking part. We frequently hear complaints that marriage is a side issue and a waste of time, and anyway the younger generation don’t want it.
But for the first time the rally was composed mainly of young people – the older generation stayed indoors, no doubt put off by the gloomy weather.
I spoke to quite a few people who have been in previous years, and they gave various reasons for not attending – not interested in marrying, no point now the Rudd government is already moving on equality, ‘Oh, that’s today, is at?”, and, “I’m off to church.” Well, it was a Sunday.
So I asked a few of the people at the rally – which seemed to be well supplied with people who called me ‘comrade’ – why they were there.
Some, predictably, want to get married. The comrades, equally predictably, said they were not in favour of participating in an oppressive anachronistic hetero-normative institution themselves, but equality demands all should have access to it if they want it (and much more in the same vein). Remembering my student days, it’s a fair bet the latter will be the one’s who end up selling life assurance and/or herbal slimming products to pay for their McMansion in the suburbs.
Now in it’s fourth year, the event has lost the passionate anger generated not so much by John Howards commando raid on the marriage act as by Labors betrayal in support of it.
And the sea of red balloons on Parliament steps which represented its high-water mark has now been replaced by a drably dressed group of the incurably activist.
In fact, the whole (much shortened) event has become as ritualistic as the ceremony to which it seeks to gain access.
So the second remarkable fact didn’t initially register when State Education Minister Bronwyn Pike’s voice drifted across the crowd, announcing, "I support same-sex marriage, I have for many, many years. I believe that a civilised society is a society that is inclusive and is a society that affords the same human rights, the same access to justice, the same equality under the law for every single one of its citizens.”
It was Bronwyn Pike who engineered the pledge with which Labor went to the last election, to donate $250k to GLBTI radio station Joy 94.9 to fund its re-equipment and the recent move to proper premises. The mothers of gay sons tend to understand these things.
To hear a senior Labor politician break ranks with the hitherto rock-solid party line and endorse gay marriage leads one to hope some of her federal colleagues may be emboldened to follow suit.
After all, polls show around 57% of Australians support gay marriage, a higher percentage than in many other countries at the time they introduced gay marriage.
Activist John Klopprogge said, "We know that a huge number of Labor parliamentarians, state and federal, support marriage equality. It will only be matter of time before more come out for equality.”
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