Australia living in the dark ages

[Parley]

Not quite the bald faced lie of John Howard's "there will never ever be a GST"...a few years before he introduced it.

 

Or Abbott when Health Minister just before an election: not to change the Medicare safety net. Just after the election...he changed it.

 

John Howard took the GST to an election and won the election so there can be no argument about that one.

[Gbye grey sky]

The fact it is such a contentious issue is exactly why it must go to a plebiscite.

Otherwise you have no idea whether the majority of Australians support it.

 

Surely every issue is contentious.

[newjez]

So Shorten has recommended to Labor's caucus that they vote against holding a marriage equality plebiscite. Good on him. I can't believe in this day and age the government thinks it's acceptable to publicly fund anti-marriage equality advertising on TV! It's gonna be an expensive three years for the country (again) if they insist on putting every small piece of legislation to a public vote before deciding on it.

 

Not even as if the result of a plebiscite would be binding. So many of the far right in the Libs have already said they'd vote against marriage equality regardless of the result.

 

I wasn't here at the time, but did Howard hold a plebiscite before changing the wording of the marriage act in the first place?

 

What a waste of bloody time and money! It's just such a no-brainer - people should be treated equally in law regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation and appearance. Why do we need a public vote on the fact?

 

Just treat everyone equally, and get on with the job you get paid for, you useless bunch of politicians!

 

They could kill two birds and try and decide whether the world is flat as well.

 

To be honest I'm surprised the glbt community haven't mounted a legal challenge on this. It's clearly institutional discrimination. I would sue. Possibly a period of civil disobedience is in order? The glbt seems to have been very quiet on the issue tbh. Either that or the press have shut it down.

[Booma]

i dont know much about this in oz. apart from not being able to register a marriage what rights will the change give same sex couples?

[Parley]

Noe really. It is mostly symbolic.

[amibovered]

Typical example of the moral superiority complex of the left, in other words, we think this is the right thing to do, so you should just do it.

[Gbye grey sky]

I suppose I am a little surprised that those on the right are happy with wasting tens of millions of dollars on a plebiscite just for the pleasure of being able to spout homophobia for a few weeks under the banner of legitimate debate.

 

Part of me wants the vote to happen as I earn a few dollars working in a polling station again. Every little helps.

[flag of convenience]

A total waste of time and money.

 

Just get on with running the country properly. A more hopeless bunch of bull sh!tters would be hard to find.

 

Far easier to play charades on matters as this than even attempt to address the very serious issues inflicting this country to which political parties are clueless in solving. This is but another distraction at best. Hopeless is far too lenient a word IMO.

[flag of convenience]

If you go to an election with a proposal to do it you have a moral obligation to follow through with what you said you would do.

 

Of course the plebiscite should go ahead on such a serious social change as this.

Just how many serious social changes have we endured in recent times where no mention of plebiscite was within cooee?

[Diane]

Noe really. It is mostly symbolic.

 

To you maybe, but not to a huge group of people who deserve to be treated equally.

[Diane]

Typical example of the moral superiority complex of the left, in other words, we think this is the right thing to do, so you should just do it.

 

If it's morally superior to expect the law to treat everyone equally, then I am proud to be morally superior.

 

By your own argument though, does that make you inferior, or just immoral?

[flag of convenience]

You may well be with the majority, but could also be with the minority! lets find out shall we.

Remind me now, who voted in this useless bunch of politicians?

 

Well okay but lets have plebiscite on things that really impact on the population. Flooding the labour market for instance. Tax breaks for the rich. I could go on...

[Diane]

Far better things to spend the money on...

 

[flag of convenience]

The Australian public Keith. You are right.

 

The Liberals/Nationals went to the election with a clear policy of holding a plebiscite and they won the election.

 

I want to find out what people really think too on this issue.

 

All a distraction from the real issues impacting on this country. One can argue it is nobodies business besides those impacted on if this becomes law or not.

[flag of convenience]

 

To you maybe not, but it could well be to others. Also If the coalition received 42% of the vote then individually what % did each of the other parties receive? I would bet non of them achieved a larger %?

 

Well if the Irish can vote it in, a country until recent times very woven up in Catholic traditionalism, perhaps there is some hope Australian social conservatism wouldn't make this country a bit of a laughing stock, then I'm on the fence a little on this, but can certainly see Australia as being cast as still living in the dark ages, if large number especially, in what is hardly a religious practising country, making it more akin to conservative Middle Eastern countries that being the case.

[flag of convenience]

If it's morally superior to expect the law to treat everyone equally, then I am proud to be morally superior.

 

By your own argument though, does that make you inferior, or just immoral?

 

You pretty much said it. Progressive thinking has nothing to do with being morally superior of course. Although I can understand how the Right side of politics in panic over the concept of enlightenment finally arriving on the shores of Australia.

[amibovered]

If it's morally superior to expect the law to treat everyone equally, then I am proud to be morally superior.

 

By your own argument though, does that make you inferior, or just immoral?

I think you've just proved my point, thank you.

[amibovered]

You pretty much said it. Progressive thinking has nothing to do with being morally superior of course. Although I can understand how the Right side of politics in panic over the concept of enlightenment finally arriving on the shores of Australia.

That's another one that tickles me, the left labelling their own thinking "progressive"

[flag of convenience]

That's another one that tickles me, the left labelling their own thinking "progressive"

 

It may well but afraid that is the generally accepted term. Not without good reason, I may add.

[Skani]

The fact it is such a contentious issue is exactly why it must go to a plebiscite.

 

 

The most contentious issues we've faced (several times) is whether to go to war in foreign countries....and no one ever asked the Australian public their opinion on that.

[Skani]

The fact it is such a contentious issue is exactly why it must go to a plebiscite.

 

 

Oh goody...let's have a plebiscite on foreign donations to political parties, foreign ownership of Australian property, keeping asylum seekers in offshore hellholes, the tax free status of religious institutions and property, politicians claiming "travel allowance" for staying in properties owned by their spouse, negative gearing, developing new coal mines, fracking.....the world's your oyster, parley. :rolleyes:

[Lambethlad]

Who will get the funding for the Vote No campaign? Hard-core Christians and Moslems? Whoever it is I'm sure most of it will be siphoned off for administration expenses and salaries. It's a total waste of money so I'm happy that it probably won't ever happen.

[flag of convenience]

The pretence that we live in a democracy. (when it comes to decision making) Just shows how relatively unimportant in the nature of things this is , how segments of the political elite are willing to give a ' peoples voice' to such a matter. Just as a lot of Big Bizz has come out in support of it.

Hardly anything to do with business that usually baulks at progressive politics. They being usually more at home pushing for a low tax agenda and bringing in more 457's.

[NicF]

i dont know much about this in oz. apart from not being able to register a marriage what rights will the change give same sex couples?

 

Exactly the same as opposite sex couples. Maybe instead of making same sex marriage legal maybe we should just make all marriage illegal.

[Booma]

To you maybe, but not to a huge group of people who deserve to be treated equally.

 

this is what im asking though. i thought same sex couples are treated exactly the same as legally married couples under the law in oz. you say they arent treated equally so i am asking in what ways are same sex couples not treated equally.