Doug PollardMaintain The Rage
When is party policy not party policy? When the Labor Party puts marriage equality into the party platform, while telling its MPs they don't have to vote for it. So - where to from here?
HOLLOW VICTORY
There’s a Greek myth about the punishment of Tantanlus. The gods sentenced him to the torture of eternal hunger and thirst, standing in a pool of water which receded whenever he tried to drink, beneath a tree which lifted its fruit out of reach whenever he grasped for it.
The Labor conference decision on marriage leaves GLBTIQ folk in a similar position. Equal marriage is now official Labor policy and therefore apparently in reach. But Labor MPs are not obliged to support it, putting it beyond our grasp. This is a hollow victory.
WIN-WIN or LOSE-LOSE?
Ms Gillard and the powers that be think it’s a win-win: the gays’ll be happy because the policy has been adopted, the Christians’ll be happy because there’s no way the policy can become law in the foreseeable future.
In fact it’s a lose-lose: the hysterical press release put out by Jim Wallace makes it clear the Australian Christian Lobby will never forgive this betrayal.
And the cries of “Shame, Labor, shame,” from the 10,000 supporters of equal marriage gathered outside the conference, made plain the anger of the gay community and their supporters. Labor has wedged itself.
RACING TO DEFEAT (1)
Let’s be plain here: this is not a subject for compromise. Either Labor supports equality, or it does not. If it does, then it must bend all its strength to forcing through the necessary laws by whatever means possible.
Instead Labor will bring a marriage bill to parliament as quickly as possible, while they can still be reasonably sure of its defeat.
They will then say to the GLBTIQ community, “Well, we did our best, but the numbers just aren’t there, the community isn’t ready . Now we’re not going to waste any more time on this, we have more important things to do.”
“But you’d better keep voting for us, because if you don’t, you’ll let Tony Abbott in, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?”
At the same time they will tell the Christian lobby,“There, you see, you were worrying about nothing. It was never going to get up, and we knew it. Yes, it’ll stay in the platform, can’t do anything about that, but the heat’ll go out of the issue now. People will lose interest.”
RACING TO DEFEAT (2)
They hope that by the time the election rolls round, more pressing issues will decide the outcome. I think they have miscalculated.
Because by alienating would-be supporters right and left, they’ve almost certainly sealed their defeat next time, and probably the time after that, too. Everyone is wise to this con.
The LGBTIQ community now knows that equal marriage must become law in this parliament, or it is lost for years. The pressure will intensify, not diminish.
IT'S THE ROMANS, STUPID
There is one ray of sunshine. This is a hollow victory for us, but it's a major defeat for the Australian Christian Lobby. They will never vote Labor again, so the party can stop wasting time and energy trying to appease them.
The real enemy is, and always has been, the Roman Catholic Church. This toxic institution, one of the largest tax-exempt businesses in the country, serial abuser of children, shelterer of paedophiles, silencer of victims, and murderer of millions worldwide through its refusal to endorse condom use, poisons both political parties.
It is the delicate ‘consciences’ of Roman Catholic MPs, not ACL supporters, that Labors manoeuvring is designed to assuage. It relieves them of the dilemma of deciding whether to obey the Australian people, or the Holy Roman Dictator.
Like Rupert Murdochs empire, which it resembles in many ways, the Roman church claims its Australian arm is relatively untainted by the criminal activities rife elsewhere. I doubt that. This is, after all, the most ‘top down’ of all organisations.
We must continue the fight to bring to light the extent of clerical abuse and the church’s shameful treatment of the victims. And we must continue the fight to remove the religious exemptions from anti-discrimination law and taxation.
SEDUCE BOB KATTER
There is a chance that things will not go the way Labor plans, but it means marriage equality campaigners must redouble their efforts.
Delay the vote on an equal marriage bill till the latter stages of this parliament, to maximise the chances of it passing, and to ensure it remains a live issue during the election if it is lost.
If a vote on the issue is forced on us early, make sure there is a second, and if necessary, a third, before the election is called. I’m certain the Greens will oblige.
Identify and court Coalition MPs who will support us, and Labor MPs who will oppose us.
Pile the pressure on Tony Abbott to grant a conscience vote.
And seduce Bob Katter.
Well, it’s got to be worth a try (and no, I’m not volunteering).
And last but not least, continue to work on the Prime Minister. She still has that dinner with us to get through, remember, which will now be even more crucial.
MAINTAIN THE RAGE
Just before the Labor conference, GetUp! revived the old Labor slogan “It’s Time!” - for equal marriage, with a great TV ad.
Now it’s time to revive another. We CAN turn this hollow victory to a real one. But we must “Maintain The Rage!” like never before.
