We’ve all heard the news that the Government’s planned same-sex marriage plebiscite probably won’t go ahead until February, giving the Lyle Sheltons of Australia ample time to talk absolute shit about LGBTQIA Australians before it all goes down. We all know its a terrible way of sorting out a major public policy question – and now former High Court judge Michael Kirby agrees.
Kirby thinks that this will just set a precedent for governments to avoid big social policy questions by putting it on the Australian public. “It will mean that any time there is something that is controversial, that’s difficult for the parliamentarians to address or they don’t want to address, they’ll send it out to a plebiscite,” he told ABC radio this morning.
“This issue is not being given a fair trot in Parliament, it hasn’t really been properly considered.”
We didn’t need a plebiscite to decide to give women, Aboriginal people and non-white immigrants rights, Kirby contends, so we really shouldn’t need one to remove discrimination against LGBTQIA Australians.
Ideally, Kirby reckons, we should be strengthening Parliament and letting them get on with creating policy, rather than tossing it to a plebiscite. He also agrees that this will just trot out all the tired, shitty arguments against same-sex marriage, which can be damaging.
“It’s simply an instance of hate and dislike, hostility to a small minority in our population, it’s un-Australian.”
It’s gonna feel like a loooooong time til February, guys.
Source: ABC.
Photo: Getty Images.
