Editorial: People deserve same-sex vote

EDITORIAL: The debate on gay marriage operates on two levels. The first is simply about the rights or wrongs of same-sex marriage. Proponents of change and their traditionalist opponents have for some time, and with varying degrees of success, been arguing for their respective causes in mostly civilised terms.

The debate on gay marriage operates on two levels. The first is simply about the rights or wrongs of same-sex marriage. Proponents of change and their traditionalist opponents have for some time, and with varying degrees of success, been arguing for their respective causes in mostly civilised terms.

The second level of debate is just how Australians will be allowed to have their say on same-sex marriage. During last year’s election campaign, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised to hold a plebiscite on the issue.

“We will hold it as soon as possible after the election. Given that the election is on 2 July, we do have ample time between then and the end of the year,” he said in May 2016.

“All I can do is give you my commitment to hold a plebiscite as soon as we can and it will be a very straightforward question and we will be asking the Australian people whether they support the definition of marriage being extended to include couples of the same sex.”

That all seemed reasonable and easily understood. But in November last year, the Coalition government’s attempt to hold a plebiscite on legalising same-sex marriage was defeated in the senate. Rather than trust voters, Labor and the Greens prefer a parliamentary vote. The only vote they want on same-sex marriage would be among politicians rather than the people.

It now appears Christopher Pyne might hold a similar view. “Friends, we are in the winner’s circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country,” the Defence Industry Minister says in a recording from a party following the Federal Liberal Council’s gala dinner on Friday evening.

“I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks,” Pyne continues. “And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome.”

Hmm. “Friends in Canberra.” The obvious concern here is that the government went to the polls last year supporting a public vote. If Pyne is signalling a shift from that policy and a move towards a politicians-only vote, it will undermine the government’s authority and the broader legitimacy of same-sex marriage, should it be legalised without public input.

Let the people have their say. It’s only fair, and it was an election vow.

A stressful wait for justice

Police work can be complicated. Clues don’t fall together as easily as suggested on television. Sometimes cases run for years until all evidence is gathered and a suspect is identified. Yet one case went in the reverse direction. Michael Aboud was arrested in 2011 after he was caught using Facebook accounts to harass eight teenage girls for nude photos. Police had their man and the evidence needed for a conviction.

And then Aboud was released. He remained free for four years prior to being arrested again in 2015. In court last week, Aboud’s Legal Aid lawyer tried arguing for a reduced sentence because of his client’s “ongoing stress and anxiety” while he waited to be charged. Understandably, that argument was rejected. Far more worrying is the stress and anxiety suffered by Aboud’s young victims.

Business buzz at airport

Western Sydney is set to take off, and much of that elevation will be provided — appropriately — by the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport.

The airport, Sydney’s second major air facility, was always ­intended to be more than simply a hub for freight and passenger flights. From the outset, it has been planned as a central driver for ­employment, development and progress for the west as a whole.

Projections now show just how effective an economic force our second airport will be.

According to Treasury modelling, the new airport will generate a staggering 31,000 construction and operational jobs, and make households in the region $44 million a year richer within just 13 years.

Additionally, Treasury data predicts a $27 million boost to profits for Western Sydney businesses from the project — which will flow into a $205 million boost for the Australian economy overall. And that is before we consider the primary role of the airport — bringing a huge improvement to the business of flying in and out of Sydney.

“First of all it needs to work very effectively as an airport — good services and people having choices about where to fly to,” Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher told The Daily Telegraph.

“But also, we want the area around the airport to be commercially vibrant with a range of businesses and institutions.

“There’s likely to be universities there; there’s likely to be hi-tech businesses; there’s likely to be facilities to meet the needs of visitors and tourists­.”

The west is aiming to be the best.