Does Christopher Pyne know something we don’t know?
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Speaking at in Sydney last Friday night, Mr Pyne has reportedly said same-sex marriage may happen “sooner than everyone thinks.”
The following comes from a leaked recording of the Liberal minister, which was obtained by News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt.
"Friends, we are in the winner's circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we've got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country," Mr Pyne said, according to Bolt's account of the recording.
"We're going to get it. I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks. And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome."
Same-sex marriage has been off the radar in the world of federal politics for quite a while, but Mr Pyne’s comments have put the topic in national headlines once again this week.
Of course, the Liberal Party’s top players, including Mr Pyne, all came out on Monday morning stating that the only way same-sex marriage would be legalised in Australia is through a plebiscite.
“The government has no plans to alter the policy," he said in a statement.
But Mr Pyne’s comments sort of fly in the face of that government policy, don’t you think?
Not to mention it doesn’t help the ever-increasing divide between the more conservative members of the Liberal party who oppose same-sex marriage and those in the party who are a little bit more left leaning, like Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
While this is all happening, Australia is still far behind the rest of the world when it comes to same-sex marriage.
It’s 2017 for goodness sake – why can’t we recognise that love is love and update a very out-of-date Marriage Act?
And not through a plebiscite, as promised at the last election, which has the potential to cause a lot of division and hatred – we have elected government officials who are supposed to represent us and make decisions on our behalf, so why not have a free vote in government?
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I hope Christopher Pyne is right – the sooner same-sex marriage is legalised, the better.
This is one election promise I certainly wouldn’t mind them breaking.
Kelsey Sutor