PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has declared he is not going to “ram” his views on marriage equality “down the throats” of others by allowing a referendum on the matter if he is re-elected.
When asked on triple J’s Hack tonight why he would not promise a binding vote if he was “really serious” about marriage equality, Mr Rudd said he would not force his views on “questions such as this” on people who don’t share them.
Mr Rudd promised at this month’s leadership debate that a bill on gay marriage would come before parliament within 100 days if Labor won another term. His party would be allowed a conscience vote.
The Prime Minister urged Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to make the same promise.
“In our parliamentary system, on matters of this nature the long standing tradition has been to offer people a conscience vote. We’ve done that,” he said.
“What I’m disappointed about though is that the prospect of this passing the parliament is undermined by Mr Abbott refusing a conscience vote on the other side.
“If you allowed people like Malcolm Turnbull and others to vote according to their conscience … there would be a very, very strong prospect of this passing the House of Representatives and the Senate as well.”
In an appeal to young voters, Mr Rudd also spruiked Labor’s rental affordability and social housing policies, saying housing was a priority for the party, as well as its policies to support apprentices, among them HECS-style loans and the building of apprenticeship training centres.
Mr Rudd also said Labor’s NBN plan was “the only way to go” for decent broadband in the future.
Faster download speeds, universal pricing across the country and free connection to the fibre-optical network were some of the benefits offered by the Labor plan, he said.
“The other mob” would offer primarily “clapped-out copper wire” connections, Mr Rudd said.
He admitted the NBN rollout had been “a little slower than we planned”, but said more than 180,000 Victorian homes and businesses had already been hooked up, or were in the process of being so.
Mr Rudd also excused Labor’s recent “negative campaigning” against Mr Abbott as highlighting “policy facts”, including the Opposition Leader’s proposed “$70 billion cuts” to jobs, health and education.
He said the Labor Party had an obligation to “place him under scrutiny”.
“That’s different from a personal attack,” Mr Rudd said.
Mr Rudd could not confirm that he would serve a full term as the member for Griffith if Labor was unable to secure government.
“I’m not in the business of talking about the possibilities of defeat,” he said.
Author: Samantha Landy
Publication: Herald Sun
Date: 26 August 2013