• Bayside News Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Tuesday, August 16
Trending
  • The publisher of ‘The Standard’ stands for council
  • Scam targets parents
  • Revamped business network launched
  • Wakkakiri next week
  • Late election pick for Libs
  • New sculpture will bloom in Love Flower’s place
  • 56-year-old lapidary club faces homelessness
  • ‘No plans’ for safe injecting facility – MP
Facebook Twitter
Bayside News
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
Bayside News
Home»Latest News»Same-sex marriage views differ
Latest News

Same-sex marriage views differ

Neil WalkerBy Neil Walker6 July 2015Updated:6 July 2015No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Divided on marriage proposal: Federal Liberal Dunkley MP Bruce Billson, above, believes same-sex marriage should not be legalised. Fellow Liberal Flinders MP Greg Hunt, right, favours a ‘conscience vote’ in Parliament for all MPs.
Divided on marriage proposal: Federal Liberal Dunkley MP Bruce Billson, above, believes same-sex marriage should not be legalised. Fellow Liberal Flinders MP Greg Hunt, below, favours a ‘conscience vote’ in Parliament for all MPs.

Greg Hunt

THE debate around legalising same-sex marriage in Australia gathered pace last week after the United States Supreme Court ruled that nation’s Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.

The US is the latest in a series of Western countries – including the UK and Ireland – to legalise marriage for gays and lesbians.

Federal politicians are facing increased pressure to follow suit in Australia but the possibility has deeply divided politicians within both the Liberal and Labor parties.

It is no different in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula.

Flinders MP and Environment Minister Greg Hunt supports a ‘conscience vote’ by federal MPs on the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Fellow Liberal MP for Dunkley and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson opposes its legalisation.

“I am a firm believer in equal rights and I have made my views on this known publicly,” Mr Hunt said in a statement provided by electorate office staff.

“I anticipate that the Party Room will consider the issue in the near future and I am very comfortable with a free vote (a conscience vote) taking place.”

According to parliamentary records, Mr Hunt has previously voted against any legislation put before Parliament supporting any changes to the Marriage Act (1961) to move towards legally recognising same-sex marriage.

Mr Hunt was in Germany for the latest UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting last week so was unavailable for further comment.

Mr Billson, unlike his Liberal colleague, is not for wavering on the subject.

The Small Business Minister said he stood by the policy the Abbott government took to the 2010 election before winning power.

“That’s the policy we took to the election and that’s the policy I’ve been holding myself accountable to,” he said.

Mr Billson said he is not as “activated” about the same-sex marriage debate “as many others”.

“I place great weight in the quality of the relationship and not necessarily the way it is characterised or described.

“I’m thrilled for people to find love where they find love but I do always try to uphold my undertakings and that was an undertaking I gave.”

Isaacs federal Labor MP Mark Dreyfus said he is “a long-standing supporter” of marriage equality.

“I believe that our nation should treat all of its citizens as equally as possible, including through marriage laws,” he said.

“I am not persuaded that it will harm our society to permit same sex couples who love each other and are committed to sharing their lives, to marry. I also cannot see that it harms any presently married couple, or the institution of marriage itself, to permit same sex couples to marry.

Mr Dreyfus said he would vote in favour of marriage equality when the next Bill to establish marriage equality comes before Parliament, as he has done in the past.

Ultra conservative Liberal MPs Eric Abetz and Cory Bernardi have criticised some within their own party. Mr Abetz said last week that any frontbenchers who want to legalise same-sex marriage should resign from cabinet and move to the back bench.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has downplayed the chances of a private member’s bill on same sex-marriage being debated and put to a vote.

Mr Billson said he had previously pushed for a “committed life partnership” to be formally recognised so gays and lesbians can celebrate their union in the presence of family and friends.

“That seemed quite a positive step forward that respected the ambitions of same-sex couples but also respected the deep and long-standing feelings that others have that marriage is a commitment between a man and a woman and there’s a whole range of traditional religious and other reasons why other people feel so strongly about it.”

First published in the Frankston Times – 6 July 2015

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Neil Walker

Related Posts

56-year-old lapidary club faces homelessness

15 August 2022

‘No plans’ for safe injecting facility – MP

15 August 2022

Centre for drug, alcohol, and mental health care opens

15 August 2022

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Aug 16, 2022 - Tue
Chelsea, Australia
12°C
16 km/h, SW
79%
760.56 mmHg
tue08/16 wed08/17 thu08/18 fri08/19 sat08/20
13/10°C
14/14°C
14/11°C
12/11°C
12/7°C
Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click Here to Read

25 July 2022
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click Here to Read

26 May 2022
Council Watch

Kilkenny a minister

6 July 2022

Push to stop rate collection methods

14 June 2022
State Elections 2022

Late election pick for Libs

15 August 2022

Shire accused of political bias

23 May 2022
Interviews

Murder mystery on the water

25 July 2022
Property of the Week

14 Lynch Court, Mt Martha

26 July 2022
100 Years Ago this Week

The publisher of ‘The Standard’ stands for council

16 August 2022
Contact

Street: 63 Watt Road, Mornington, 3931
Mailing: PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915

Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook Twitter
© 2022 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.