Marriage Equality advocates have hit back at Malcolm Turnbull for suggesting that Civil Unions were a substitute for marriage equality in a recent speech.In a speech on the 6th of July at the Southern Cross University, Mr Turnbull said:
“While I am very doubtful the numbers are there to legislate for gay marriage in the Federal Parliament I think they are certainly there to legislate for civil unions… I think it would be a great pity if marriage is not able to be passed in the parliament and that opportunity to pass civil unions should be taken up.”
Referencing Mr Turnbull’s own survey (details here), Australian Marriage Equality National Convener Alex Greenwich said
“Wherever civil unions have been enacted they entrench discrimination rather than remove it.”
“Mr Turnbull should know better than to suggest civil unions as a way forward, especially given that his own electorate survey overwhelmingly rejected civil unions and endorsed marriage equality”
“Civil Unions may be a politically expedient cop-out for politicians, but they will never be a solution to the acute hurt and discrimination felt by so many same-sex couples, their families, and their communities”
“Mr Turnbull’s own polling proves Australians aspire to a nation that provides equality for loving and committed couples, not one that settles on convenient half measures for politicians”
Mr Greenwich also rejected Mr Turnbull’s pessimistic prediction about the fate of the issue (details here):
“Right up until the Labor Party changed their policy to favour marriage equally leading figures in the ALP said it would not happen.”
“Politicians in both major parties have consistently under-estimated how quickly the ground shifts on this issue.”