City of Sydney plan for mass same-sex wedding labelled a ‘stunt’ by former deputy Kerryn Phelps
Former Deputy Lord Mayor Kerryn Phelps has labelled a plan to hold a mass same-sex wedding at Town Hall as a “stunt” that does not have the backing of the Sydney LGBTI community.
Central Sydney
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Former Deputy Lord Mayor Kerryn Phelps has labelled a plan to hold a mass same-sex wedding at Town Hall as a “stunt” that does not have the backing of the Sydney LGBTI community.
At last month’s City of Sydney council meeting it was decided that should the “yes” vote be successful the City will open council-owned venues for 100 days from the Marriage Act being amended to same-sex couples wishing to be married.
Sydney Town Hall would also be opened for couples in what has been described as a mass-style wedding on the “first day practical” following the change.
The motion was originally put forward by Labor councillor Linda Scott and passed through an amendment with the support of the Clover Moore Independent Team.
It only includes same-sex couples — a clause which was argued against as exclusionary by Liberal councillor and LGBTI campaigner Christine Forster.
Cr Phelps, an Independent, has labelled the controversial plan a stunt.
“It has all the hallmarks of a photo opportunity and a stunt, and I think the gravitas of what we’ve been fighting for is undermined by something like this,” Cr Phelps said.
There was no consultation with anyone from the LGBTI community about either motions, she said.
Neither was she or Cr Forster, both in long-term same- sex relationships, approached about the event before it was proposed on the floor of council, she said.
While Prof Phelps voted for the motion as she did not wish to deny the opportunity to those who wished to take part in such an event, she became increasingly uneasy about the decision after speaking with people in the LGBTI community.
She said she hadn’t come across a single gay person who welcomed the mass wedding.
“This was unguided by the LGBTI community which is outrageous,” Cr Phelps said.
“I have been working with the marriage equality movement for many years and I just think it is the height of arrogance not to ask the people who it actually affects.”
A spokeswoman for the Lord Mayor said Australian Marriage Equality (AME) were consulted and supported the motion. A co-chair of AME was consulted before Cr Scott’s motion was amended and other members of the LGBTI community were also consulted, she said.
It was a “small gesture of goodwill in the spirit of celebration,” the Lord Mayor said.
Co-chair of AME and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said he had been approached by the Lord Mayor’s team after the motion had passed.
Mr Greenwich did not respond to questions about whether he explicitly supports the motion but said he “stressed (to the Lord Mayor’s team) that the most important thing they could do is to support the Dean Smith bill”. (The cross party equality bill introduced by Liberal senator Dean Smith.)
Cr Scott also said she had spoken with a cross-section of people about the motion and had approached both Cr Forster and Cr Phelps before putting it to council.
She had received a “strongly positive response from the LGBTI communities” regarding her original motion, she said.
The mass wedding would be run by the Sydney Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages and the City would begin working with the body as soon as today should the “yes” vote succeed.
Cr Phelps said she would not want to rule out the event if it was something people wanted, however, there was little detail about it.
“A lot of people are feeling uneasy about the process and about the symbolism and I’m very unhappy about the lack of consultation and detail,” Cr Phelps said.
At Monday night’s council meeting Cr Forster agreed there was a lack of detail.
“Is this going to be, god forbid, a Kim Jong Un moment at Town Hall?” she said.
Cr Forster said she was fundamentally opposed to the idea of “conferring special rights on part of the community which is not what this (movement) is about”.
At the meeting a motion put forward by Cr Phelps asking for details of the event and for consultation with the LGBTI community was knocked back.
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