Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Tony Abbott's approach to marriage equality is nothing short of embarrassing and out of step with the views of the Australian people. In fact, I am embarrassed by the way Tony Abbott is behaving and I think he should be sin-binned from parliament until the issue is resolved. Not only is he failing to show leadership; he is making a shameful mess of a very serious issue which needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency. The people of Australia are being affected and our international reputation is being further trashed as a result of the Abbott government's stupid actions. This is why I want same-sex marriage to be taken out of the government's hands and put to the Australian people in the form of a plebiscite, so the people can vote on this issue. While not everyone is in favour of a plebiscite, at least this process will ensure the people of Australia are directly involved in the resolution of this important matter.

Marriage inequality only does one thing: it fosters discrimination across all areas of our community and promotes discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Discrimination of any type is not acceptable. My sport of rugby league was the first national sporting code in Australia to embrace marriage equality. We in rugby league understand the importance of marriage equality. We understand that marriage is about love and not gender. We understand that marriage equality is about human rights. We understand that everyone deserves the right to marry, enjoy the benefits of marriage and experience true inclusiveness, which we know provides important social and cultural benefits. Together with the Greens and other crossbenchers, I am sponsoring a bill which will be introduced in the Senate in the near future to force the government to undertake a plebiscite at the next federal election. I want marriage equality to become reality in Australia, as do most Australians.