It’s been a bit of a Bizzaro World in Australian federal politics in recent weeks. First we had the opposition saying they were concerned about the human rights of vulnerable people who will be expelled to Malaysia under the asylum seeker people-swap arrangement. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and immigration spokesman Scott Morrison were borrowing the same language about compassion and protecting fragile people that me and my fellow Greens have been using for years.
Then last week, an ALP backbencher, John Murphy, the Member for Reid in western Sydney, was quoted as saying ALP members who support marriage equality should join the Greens. I tweeted a hyperlink to the ”join us” section of the Greens’ website and while I appreciate the plug he gave my party, I would rather both major parties also stood up for true equality. No Australian should be treated as a second-class citizen simply because of the gender of the person they’re in love with. The fight for marriage equality should be above party politics, which is a vital reason to give members of parliament a conscience vote on the matter.
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