Marriage equality is a fad that risks opening a “Pandora’s Box”, according to Senator Eric Abetz.
As Nigel Lake helpfully commented on Twitter, that would be a box that includes love, diversity, compassion and respect.
But Abetz seems to believe other nasties will emerge, suggesting legalising gay marriage will lead to polyamory. Lets remember Abetz is the same senator who told Channel Ten’s The Project that abortion can lead to breast cancer.
He told ABC radio this morning that “some rationality” needs to come back into the debate, and then appeared on Sky News a little later to declare that: “If you undo the institution of marriage by redefining it for the latest movement or the latest fad, you will open the Pandora’s box.” He added that “polyamory clearly” could be a consequence of redefining the definition of marriage.
Abetz’s comments followed an op-ed he penned for the The Age last night expressing disappointment that the Australian media had become obsessed by a “a slim majority activist US Supreme Court decision”. He noted the media has failed to offer similar levels of coverage on the vote against gay marriage in the Austrian legislature.
The push for marriage equality has ramped up this week, following the announcement of a multi-party private members bill, set to be introduced to Parliament in August. The Bill includes two Liberal co-sponsors Warren Entsch and Teresa Gambaro, Labor MPs Terri Butler and Laurie Ferguson, Greens MP Adam Bandt, and independents Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie. It comes after last week’s US Supreme Court decision legalising same-sex marriage in all fifty states, and following the Irish referendum supporting marriage equality earlier this year.
It’s seems fair to assume that Abetz will not be voting in favour of the Bill, should a party vote on the issue come up. And that’s his prerogative.
However, what’s not fair to assume is that other Liberal MPs will have an opportunity to personally vote on the matter.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has all but rejected the cross-party bill, declaring through a spokesperson that he continues to support the current policy that marriage is between a man and a women, and that the government has other priorities to deal with — that is economic management and national security. He said his party will deal with the Bill in the “usual process”.
It’s ultimately up to Abbott to decide whether the party will be allowed a conscience vote on the matter. But if marriage equality is something that should be “owned by the parliament”, as Abbott previously said it should be, then his personal views should be irrelevant. He’s just one more ‘no’ vote on the likely side of the minority.
For Abbott, marriage equality is about to become an annoying and inconvenient distraction. Opponents of a free vote on same-sex marriage are pulling at everything to keep a “debate” on the issue alive. This morning, Abetz even went so far as to say that given we’re so happy to declare we’re part of the “Asia Century”, we should follow the lead of our Asian neighbours, rather than New Zealand, Britain, the United States and Ireland.
While Senator Cory Bernardi hasn’t repeated his previous comments that marriage equality could lead to an acceptance of bestiality, he has reiterated his stance that same-sex marriage will deny children a right to a mother and a father.
These sorts of comments do no favours for the Coalition at a time when the majority of Australians support marriage equality. We can only imagine where such language will go as the debate heats up in the coming weeks. For Abbott, one would think it’d be better to deal with the issue now, rather than have it become a core election issue when we likely go to the polls.
Marriage equality is an inconvenient distraction for the Abbott Government. For those who’ll be directly affected by a positive decision on the bill, it’s a distraction they’ve been waiting a long, long time for.