Openly-lesbian Senator Penny Wong will now be ‘moving forward’ without the support of marriage equality advocates.
Labor’s Climate Change Minister (pictured) said on Channel Ten yesterday that she respected her party’s opposition to gay marriage law reform.
‘‘On the issue of marriage I think the reality is there is a cultural, religious, historical view around that which we have to respect”, she stated.
Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson Alex Greenwich says Senator Wong’s rationale for opposing marriage equality is “deeply hypocritical.”
“It was once the ‘cultural, religious and historical view’ that women should not be members of parliament, Asians should not be allowed into Australia, and lesbians shouldn’t even exist, yet thankfully all that changed allowing people like Penny Wong to contribute to Australian society at the highest level,” he reacted.
“By opposing marriage equality, Penny Wong has betrayed gay and lesbian Australians, and by using culture, religion and history to justify this opposition she has betrayed the principles of tolerance and inclusion that have given her immense opportunities as a lesbian woman of Chinese descent.”
“I can only pity Senator Wong for putting the politics of prejudice ahead of her own equality.”
Green Party leader Bob Brown – who’s also gay – was just as shocked at Wong’s statement.
‘’Oh look, I was horrified. To somehow excuse discrimination on the basis of culture or heritage – are we going to bring back in hanging?” he reacted, reports the AAP.
‘Fair dinkum!’
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott went head-to-head last night in their only planned live TV debate.
Sadly on this occasion however, there wasn’t a DNA magazine editor or member of Same Same’s Forum present in the studio to question them about same-sex marriage.
Most pundits have announced that Labor’s Tilda Swinton lookalike marginally won the debate over the Liberals’ suited Speedo fan.
Missed the debate? Check out our edited highlights package below.

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