Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a member of the House of Representatives, I am constantly gauging the views of my electorate on many varied subjects, not just over the short term but over the long term, as I know many of us in here do all the time. Therefore, it is a pleasure to report to the House from the electorate of Deakin on the motion moved by the Greens, the motion that says that this House calls on parliamentarians, consistent with their duties as representatives, to gauge their constituents' views on ways to achieve equal treatment for same-sex couples, including marriage.

I have received hundreds of letters and emails as well as local petitions on the subject, in particular from constituents who have longstanding, if not lifelong, views on the subject of marriage. Indeed, many people who wrote to me confided that they had never contacted a politician from either side in their adult lives. An issue such as a debate about same-sex marriage causes such people to pick up their pens or hit their keyboards to tell me their views and beliefs.

The statistics in the correspondence did not surprise me, but the volume most certainly did. I received correspondence, met with or received calls from 1,080 people in the electorate of Deakin who have identified themselves as living within the boundaries of the seat and who have been verified on the electoral roll. As usual with any debate these days, I also received a large amount—over 300—anonymous and completely identical emails from multiple and often duplicate email addresses. I also received more than 100 emails and letters from outside the electorate of Deakin and from lobby groups from both points of view.

The terms of this motion called on members to consult with their constituents and it is for this particular reason that I have excluded lobbyists from this report as they are not based within the electorate and will always try to present their collective case in the best possible light. I have also in particular disregarded anonymous and unaddressed chain emails that are clearly the work of various lobbyist groups or their supporters from both sides of the debate.

This motion is about gauging the views of constituents, and in my case the constituents of the electorate that I represent, Deakin. I have tried to provide responses to everyone who has written to me on this issue, but I must admit that I still have a backlog of nearly 200 responses that I have yet to send through, although I have read each and included their views in this report. As the numbers are large, these responses will continue to take many days to complete and send out, but they will be done.

In total to date I have received 65 contacts in support of same-sex marriage. Many of these personally addressed emails went into detail as to why the case for same-sex marriage should be supported, and that number is some 6.02 per cent of the total. On the opposite side of the argument, I have received 1,015 contacts against same-sex marriage, each and every one different in content and with various reasoning and views supporting this position—a percentage of 93.98 per cent. Interestingly, the correspondence received from constituents who do not support same-sex marriage revealed that quite a number support civil relationship recognition.

I would like to note that the federal Labor government's action to introduce reforms that removed discrimination from 85 Commonwealth laws has certainly addressed some of those views—reforms that were presented to federal parliament in 2009 that removed discrimination and equalised treatment for same-sex couples in areas of taxation, social security, health, aged care, superannuation, immigration, child support and family law. I have lived in the electorate of Deakin under various boundaries for 25 out of the last 26 years and I have lived just outside those boundaries for the rest of my 46 years. I am not surprised in the least by the results of this gauging of community views, as it reflects my experience of dealing with issues in the local community over the previous parliament, the term of the current parliament and my time in that community prior to coming to this place. What I find surprising is that some of those in lobby groups are so keen to launch attacks on me for expressing my own views on the subject after they have requested my personal views on the issue of marriage. I believe that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, and I do not support same-sex marriage. That is entirely consistent with the ALP platform that I was elected upon and I will not be changing my personal beliefs or principles for the sake of others' differing views or perceived political gain.

I thank everyone in the electorate of Deakin who has contacted me in this matter and look forward to hearing the contributions of others members to this motion. (Time expired)

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