EDITORIAL: Ready for conversation?
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ALBURY is ready to talk seriously about where it stands on same-sex marriage, a convenor of a Border gay and lesbian support service says.
Hume Phoenix’s Toni Johnson also thinks a full poll should be taken on both sides of the Murray to determine just how many people are in favour of changing the Marriage Act.
Ms Johnson’s comments come after the Assistant Minister for Education, Sussan Ley, appeared on the ABC panel show Q&A on Monday night.
Ms Ley told the audience she did not believe her Farrer electorate was ready for same-sex marriage.
“I think it’s an idea whose time hasn’t quite come in the area of rural Australia and regional Australia that I represent,” Ms Ley said in response to a question from the floor.
“It’s a question that gets raised with me very rarely.”
Yesterday, Ms Ley expanded on that, telling The Border Mail that the government was addressing numerous social and economic matters and that “for our communities in general same-sex marriage is simply not a high priority”.
“When this issue comes up across Farrer, the most common response I hear is ‘Who is making this issue a priority, and why?’” she said.
But Ms Johnson said the issue was not talked about enough locally — and that perhaps the reason it wasn’t raised with Ms Ley was because most people did not have a problem with it.
“Most of the people I speak to really don’t care, as long as people are in love and not hurting each other,” Ms Johnson said.
“People need to talk about it and (politicians) need to take a poll in the area. We have such a big population of gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer and inter-sex people in this area.”
In the show, Ms Ley answered a question after all panelists had agreed the make-up of families didn’t matter so long as children were loved and well cared for.
She couldn’t say when would be “the right time” for Farrer and Australia.
Yesterday, Ms Ley said it was clear attitudes in Farrer had changed dramatically.
“That said, I still meet young men and women in our small country towns who feel harassed by outdated attitudes to their sexuality, so there remains more to be done in some areas,” she said.
Ms Ley has previously stated she would be unlikely to support a change to the legislation.
Ms Johnson has invited Ms Ley to attend an Equal Love Rally in Albury’s QEII Square on Saturday from 1pm.