Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to a question without notice asked by Senator Farrell today relating to a proposed plebiscite concerning marriage equality.

I think the failure of the Attorney-General to properly answer any of these questions is pretty typical of the failure of this government to deal with the real issue that is affecting the lives of many Australians, and that is: why they should be treated differently to other Australians who have got rights in this country.

Senator Farrell had asked about the issue of public funding of the 'yes' and 'no' campaigns for the proposed marriage equality plebiscite. Well, we know that there are some groups in this country that want to get funded so that they can get up and denigrate other Australians' rights to have a loving relationship in the same terms as every other Australian has the right now. This is unacceptable in a modern economy. This is unacceptable in a modern democracy. It should not be so. Everyone should get access to the same rights.

I find it unbelievable that a government that claims it is about the proper economic stewardship of this country would contemplate spending what some people have estimated to be nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, to have a so-called plebiscite that will not be binding on parliamentarians and will not mean anything to anyone coming in here who will be entitled to vote according to their conscience or religious beliefs. It will not be binding. It will not deal with this issue effectively or properly.

I would say that there is a quarter of a billion dollars that could be spent better elsewhere. And it is clear that the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has a view that is different from the view of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies, who said that the Prime Minister gave an unambiguous offer to fund the 'no' campaign. Well, after watching this Prime Minister in inaction—not in action, but in inaction—for 12 months, there is only one person you would believe out of that conversation, and that would be the Archbishop of Sydney. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney had absolutely no doubts about what the Prime Minister had offered, and the Prime Minister had offered funding. And I am saying that some of the groups who are looking for funding want to use that funding to have government-sponsored, publicly-funded campaigns to denigrate our fellow Australians. That is an unacceptable proposition.

The view that I take and that the Labor Party takes is that we should not be wasting time and money going to a plebiscite that will simply generate hate and fear amongst our fellow Australians. We should be ensuring that we are dealing with the real issues in this country. And one of the issues should be that this parliament comes together and does its day job—that is: to come here and make a decision, as we have been elected to do, in the interests of Australian citizens and provide equal rights to all Australian citizens. Whether you are lesbian, gay, transgender or transsexual, you should have the same rights as every other citizen.

Why should our fellow Australians be subjected to a government-funded campaign of denigration against their rights as Australians to love a fellow Australian and get married in this country? This is an obnoxious proposition, this plebiscite. This is a plebiscite that has been forced on the Prime Minister by the extreme right in this government. It is a plebiscite that is driven by the right wing on a weak prime minister. (Time expired)