Rodney Croome . gay advocate

'Unhappy times'

Is Australia a lost cause when it comes to marriage equality?

Time to check the in-tray.

On the Tasmanian election DavidB writes,

You said:
"The state election in March is an excellent opportunity to highlight how and why Tasmania can continue to improve its response to the prejudice which has blighted our reputation for too long."

But how do we do this? The current Labor government appear to be reasonably supportive of our (the GLBT) causes here in Tasmania, but this is countered against the appalling way they are managing most other aspects of government. Whereas the Liberal opposition has made no statement (that I am aware of) that supports or otherwise our causes-their government management skills are unknown at this stage.

The Greens seem to be sympathetic to our causes and from what I have seen reported, the current leader would be a beneficial friend if he was in a position of influence. Of course, like the Liberals, the Greens government management skills are unknown. But I guess the Greens would inject a certain 'freshness' into there management, whereas the Liberals would rely on the same old values based rhetoric we are used to hearing from that side of politics.

What an amusing idea, LGBT issues as the one and only thing a Tasmanian Government gets right!

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. After a decade in office, and some outstanding successes in the area of legislation and services, there is still much the Tasmanian Government has promised but failed to deliver, chiefly in regard to tackling homophobic prejudice and discrimination. Its job will be to convince LGBT voters that it still has the energy and skill to reach its remaining goals.

It is not a foregone conclusion that the Liberals would fail to deliver further reform, especially with pragmatic conservatives Will Hodgman as leader and Vanessa Goodwin as Attorney-General. A lot will depend on whether ideologically-driven theocons increase their numbers in the Liberal Party room, as many fear they will.

The Greens have strong commitments, but their capacity to deliver will depend on their ability to a) achieve the balance of power and then b) some influence over government decisions making. Neither are foregone conclusions.

In sum, Tasmania's political parties may be closer than they seem when it comes to their capacity to deliver further reform.

In other Tas election news, the Ethics and Sustainability Party has distanced itself from perceptions of anti-gay prejudice in this letter to the editor of the Hobart Mercury.

On marriage equality in Portugal and Latin America Brenton writes,

I think a lot of people will be enrolling in Spanish and Portuguese language classes. For American couples, south of the border will become a stampede if more South and Central American countries introduce marriage equality. Australia is a lost cause. I see no hope whilst Kevin Rudd is the Prime Minister and regressive policies in regard to homosexuality will be put quickly in place if Abbott and his religious henchmen come to power! Shockingly, Australia had not commented in any way to the political situations affecting homosexuals in Malawi, Uganda or Rwanda.I am ashamed at times of my country and it seems that the Australian population are 'happy' with our Parliaments being filled with 'religious' Members. I think that there are many unhappy times ahead!

One of the biggest challenges facing supporters of marriage equality in Australia is to distinguish between appearances and reality.

It may appear that “Australia is a lost cause”, thanks to the insistent opposition of the leaders of both major federal parties.

But walls that appear unbreachable can in fact be brittle or thin, or for whatever reason, suddenly crumble away.

Polls show that a solid majority of Australians support same-sex marriage (if they didn’t, opponents of equality would have produced polls showing otherwise).

Overwhelming support for marriage equality at last year’s Tasmanian and Victoria state Labor conferences shows that this support extends well into our political structures.

How long can it be before the upper crust of opposition to equality cracks open?

My predication is not long at all. I’ll also venture the turning point will be something unpredictable and seemingly small. That’s how all great moments of change begin.

In other marriage equality news, before you enroll in a Spanish class, you might want to consider Nepali.

In other news altogether,

Luke Williams asks whether the Melbourne Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, is really as gay friendly as he seems, while Brian Greig asks if retired General Peter Cosgrove is as keen to oppose prejudice as he seems.