As Parliament rises for their winter break, they could be returning to enact a piece of social change that, frankly, has been a long time coming.
Sky News has this afternoon reported that a Same-Sex Marriage bill will be introduced into Parliament once they resume sitting in August, and this time it has multi-party support from across the floor.
For the first time in the nation’s history on this debate, the bill will be co-sponsored by two of the vocal pro-marriage equality Liberal Party MPs in Warren Enstch and Teresa Gambero. Together, they will stand alongside Independent MPs Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie, and two as-yet unnamed Labor MPs in supporting the bill.
The cross-party bill will reportedly be reintroduced into Parliament on August 11th, and will – in turn – prompt a Coalition party room debate regarding a conscience vote on the matter, which will be held on August 18th.
To pass the Lower House, any marriage equality act would require a conscience vote from the Liberal Party, whose current party position is blanket opposition. The conscience vote would allow MPs the ability to vote as individuals, rather than as a block.
Following the successful marriage equality pushes in the United States and Ireland, Australia sits – as a developed nation – somewhat behind the eightball on the global development of the issue.
But as the old saying goes, better late than never.
Cross all your fingers, friends. This is as good a shot as we’ll ever get during the current Governmental term.
Photo: Scott Barbour via Getty Images.
via SMH.
