Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to start by sharing with you the story of Sandra Yates and Lee Bransden from Devonport in my home region of north-west Tasmania. They first met about 30 years ago when Sandra volunteered to pick apples in an orchard that Lee managed. They love to go camping and they both love music, art, cooking and politics. They describe each other as soul mates. Recently, Sandra and Lee flew to New Zealand to get married at a ceremony in the Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua, an idyllic destination for an ordinary couple in love to make their vows and embark on married life you might think. But, sadly, the reason that Sandra and Lee had to go to New Zealand is that they are not being treated like an ordinary couple in this country. They would have loved to have sealed their union on home soil, but they cannot because it is not legal because Sandra and Lee are both women, and, quite frankly, they simply do not have the luxury of time to wait for the day when we in this place give them the freedom to choose the path that millions of other people take for granted. Lee suffers from an incurable lung disease and it is very possible that she has only months or even weeks to live.

Lee and Sandra knew that time was short, but they also knew, without a doubt, that they must find a way to legally marry. Unfortunately, they also knew they would not be able to do it in this country, so they put out a call to the community for help through a crowdfunding campaign. The community response was incredible. In only two days, Sandra and Lee managed to raise more than $10,000 so they could fulfil Lee's dying wish to be joined together with Sandra in marriage. While this is a very special and touching story of the triumph of love over adversity, it is a story that simply did not need to happen and one that should not have happened. It should have not have happened to Lee and Sandra and it should not happen to any other couple.

After they returned from New Zealand, Sandra and Lee have continued to be active campaigners for marriage equality. They continue to advocate for change so that other couples will not find themselves in the same situation. They have tried to reach out to their local members of parliament, asking us to meet with them to listen to their story and to ensure that we are guided by the principles of humanity, fairness and equality when we make any decisions.

I met with Sandra and Lee prior to them heading off to New Zealand. They are very caring human beings who just want to have their relationship recognised by marriage while Lee is still with us. We laughed and joked about a number of things. Lee told me about her little dog and the struggles that she has with her condition, and they both talked about how the recognition of their relationship by marriage would mean the world to them and provide them with peace. I hope they have found some of that now, although I know that whatever the future holds for Lee, Sandra will continue with the battle to ensure other couples are able to have their marriage recognised legally in Australia.

Unfortunately, despite Sandra and Lee's public plea, their local member of parliament, Mr Brett Whiteley, still has not got in touch. He has not reached out to learn more about their story. He has not made any attempt to understand what they have gone through and to consider how many others in his community might also be suffering from this discriminatory legal framework. Through the local newspaper, he said that they could pick up the phone and call him. Well, why couldn't he do what I did and reach out to them, and at least offer to meet with them and hear from them what this discrimination means to them and to others in our community? Mr Whiteley said that the push for marriage equality 'fails in, my view, to carry the goodwill of the community'. He is not alone.

Many on the conservative side of politics continue to assert that they know that Australians do not want marriage equality. But the facts do not support this assertion. In fact, polling shows that almost three-quarters of Australians are supporters, and the momentum is building. There is nothing that Mr Whiteley or anyone else can do to hold off the push for the removal of this discrimination, not in Australia or around the world.

In June, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex couples can marry anywhere in the country. This progressive milestone comes on the back of another historic outcome in Ireland. Ireland is a deeply religious nation not known for its progressive values and actions, but last month it became the first country to put the issue of marriage equality to the people through a referendum. There was a great turnout for the vote. It even saw Irish expats filing onto planes to head home to have their voices heard. The result of the vote was a decisive 62 per cent to 38 per cent in favour of marriage equality. If the vote in Ireland and the ruling in the United States have taught us anything, it is how far the rest of the world has moved and how far Australia is lagging behind.

These milestones come on the back of legalisation of same-sex marriage in many countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Brazil and Sweden. And do you know what the outcome of the legal change has been in these countries? Do you know what has happened in the places that have decided to legalise marriage equality? Well, I will tell you. People who loved each other got married. That's it. Full stop. Other couples still got married, and their marriages were still just as special. And the sun continued to shine and the world continued to turn—even in conservative countries.

We need to understand that this isn't just about the right of two individuals to have their love recognised under the law; it is about the value we place on these relationships. It is undeniable that our legal framework has a direct flow-on effect on broader social attitudes. Until marriage equality is enshrined in Australian law, we will continue to send a state sanctioned message to couples like Sandra and Lee that their love is somehow less valid, less real or less important. And, in doing so, we tell the children who have two parents of the same gender that their family is somehow less valid, less real or less important.

Opponents of equality use the pretence of protecting children as one of their major arguments to blocking marriage equality. I challenge them to look at a child who is being bullied, because his family is different, and tell him that they are protecting him. No, we are not protecting the children. We are maintaining and reinforcing discrimination that can only foster ignorance and homophobia.

The momentum is building to change this anachronistic policy. As a member of the Labor party, I am proud of the fact that previous parliaments changed 85 laws to remove discrimination against LGBTI Australians and same-sex couples. That is our legacy. But we still have the final hurdle ahead: to remove the final gender inequity for same-sex couples.

Close to three-quarters of Australians recognise that this needs to happen. When will our parliament catch up? How can it be that three-quarters of our community believe in marriage equality but two-thirds of government members want to lock their party into a regressive and discriminatory position? How can there be such a disconnect between the people of Australia and our elected representatives?

Prime Minister Tony Abbott previously said the problem is that the bills before the parliament have been from Labor or the Greens. He said that any bill must be co-sponsored by all parties. But last week, when a co-sponsored bill was due to hit the parliament, he did an about-face and manoeuvred to ensure that supporters within his party could not vote with their conscience on the issue.

The Liberals did not spend six hours deliberating on their savage cuts to health, education and welfare; however, this is the amount of time they spent on deciding to entrench discrimination against same-sex couples. For a party that regularly brags that their members are not bound to vote in any particular way, this should not pose a problem. So why does it?

Australia's lack of action on marriage equality is an international embarrassment, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott's suggestion of a referendum would be an outrageous waste of money when we know that public support for change is overwhelming. Prime Minister Abbott has nothing to gain from this belligerent stonewalling, and it will only reinforce people's perception of him as a dinosaur. He is not going to hold off Australia's eventual move to marriage equality. The momentum is growing. Every day in the different states and territories, we see the momentum for change. It is time that the people in this place started acting on the will of the people across this country. It is time for the Prime Minister to step aside and let his government members do exactly that.