Advocates seek meeting with Gillard after Abbott meets Australia’s leading PFLAG dad.
Australian marriage equality advocates have stepped-up their campaign to meet Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, following a meeting between equality supporters and conservative Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, which saw Mr Abbott presented with 2,500 letters demanding he allow the Opposition a conscience vote on marriage equality.
On Friday Mr Abbott met Geoff Thomas, a Vietnam Veteran and owner of a small plumbing business, whose nationally-televised question to Abbott about marriage equality during last year’s federal election shot the issue to the centre of Australian political debate.
Mr Thomas, accompanied by his gay son Nathan who presented Mr Abbott with the 2,500 letters, described the Opposition Leader as “open” and believes he may grant the conservative Liberal / National Party Coalition a conscience vote.
“What he said was if the majority of people in the Liberal Party wanted a conscience vote he would consider it,” Mr Thomas said.
“I got to tell you he gave us a very reasoned amount of time and I think he was impressed with what we had to say. My reading of it was that it was a very successful meeting.”
Geoff Thomas said he had met with other Coalition frontbenchers who had shown less respect for his position.
“When (Nationals leader) Warren Truss met us he just lectured us about how we ought to behave,” Mr Thomas said.
Australian Marriage Equality National Convener, Alex Greenwich, said he will now write to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has so far refused to meet equality advocates, seeking a meeting to discuss the urgency of reform.
“We want to impress on the Prime Minister that this is not a boutique issue that can wait till she deals with everything else, but an urgent human rights reform that cannot wait any longer.”
Like Mr Abbott, Ms Gillard opposes marriage equality but has promised that the Labor Party’s policy will be reviewed at the Party’s National Conference at the end of the year.
Despite receiving the 2,500 letters, Mr Abbott’s office played down the possibility that the Coalition’s policy will change soon and told the Australian: “There was a candid discussion with Nathan and Geoff Thomas in which Mr Abbott restated that the Coalition’s policy is to oppose gay marriage and that it is Coalition policy not to have a conscience vote on the issue,” a spokesperson said.
For a news report of Friday’s meeting click here
For more information contact Alex Greenwich on 0421 316 335