Gay marriage vote allows moment of reconciliation

The first thing to say about the result of the postal survey on gay marriage is that it was an overwhelming success. With 79.5 per cent of eligible voters returning votes and 61.6 per cent of them favouring same-sex marriage, the result is emphatic. This means when legislation passes parliament it will do so with the imprimatur of the people, in the knowledge everyone has had their say on this historic reform, so that it may be embraced as seamlessly as possible. This has always been the attraction of a plebiscite, conjured by former prime minister Tony Abbott as a fix to insulate nervous Coalition MPs from voters or preselectors resistant to change. Malcolm Turnbull was right to stick to that compromise, and voters endorsed it through the Coalition’s narrow election win last year. Labor and the Greens combined to block the plebiscite, twice. This was petulant, divisive and anti-democratic. It injected partisan rancour into the debate, which was particularly hypocritical given Labor had rejected and then failed to act on gay marriage during six years in power. The Prime Minister deserves enormous credit for persisting and finding a way to honour a public vote through the postal approach. It came with considerable political risks as failure would have reflected poorly on the government. It was challenged in the High Court, and throughout the campaign gay marriage advocates made it clear they resented the process, even claiming the debate would trigger suicide among young gays.

The Australian recognised a public vote was constitutionally superfluous but had the potential to be politically and socially constructive. This is what we saw yesterday, a warm national embrace that became the greatest gesture of tolerance and acceptance proffered by the broader community to gay and lesbian Australians. It had the character of a reconciliation on gay rights. That would not have happened without a vote. Most of the 17 electorates where the No vote was in the majority were Labor-held seats in western Sydney and many of the strongest Yes votes arose in older Coalition seats. There is a lesson here in how the social character of areas with high levels of recent immigrants can be different, underscoring the legitimacy of immigration control and planning in shaping our society. In a sense, the gay marriage advocates who opposed a vote underestimated the inclusiveness of conservative, suburban and regional Australians — the mainstream.

For the Coalition it would have been galling to see Labor MPs who had voted against gay marriage when in power, then voted against the plebiscite from opposition and complained about the postal survey, suddenly claiming the fruits of the result. It was incongruous to see Bill Shorten at the front of a rainbow-adorned crowd in Melbourne welcoming the results. While careful to say gays and lesbians should not have had to “put up” with the survey, the Opposition Leader went on to bask in its glory. “This marriage equality survey is not just good for marriage equality,” Mr Shorten said. “I believe in this survey Australians have voted for a generous view of themselves, for a modern Australia, where diversity is accepted, supported and respected.” He is right. But he might have admitted this was something he would have denied the nation. He might have acknowledged that if Labor respected the Coalition’s election mandate the plebiscite would have happened at the start of the year with less rancour.

For his determination Mr Turnbull has been given perhaps the most politically rewarding day of his prime ministership, which can only be topped in coming weeks when he converts it into legislative change. “Now it is up to us, here in the Parliament of Australia, to get on with it,” he said yesterday, recognising the expectations of the nation. “To get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do and get this done, this year, before Christmas — that must be our commitment.” Given the turmoil enveloping Canberra — complicated again yesterday with the High Court knocking out Hollie Hughes who had been selected to replace disqualified NSW Nationals senator Fiona Nash — nothing is easy. But the goodwill of all parties should be directed at delivering this reform with a minimum of fuss. Socially conservative MPs are rightly concerned about protecting parental rights and religious freedoms, and they were given assurances by Mr Turnbull in September when he declared he believed in religious freedom “even more strongly” than marriage equality. Wisely, the bill proposed by Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, which went too far in allowing individuals and businesses to discriminate against gay weddings, has been withdrawn. Instead, Coalition MPs will focus on inserting stronger provisions in senator Dean Smith’s bill, which was devised by committee and has cross-party support. That is a sensible way forward. This newspaper agreed with former prime minister John Howard’s argument, repeated yesterday, that it would have been preferable to settle on a detailed bill before the public vote.

Yet we are close to a legislative resolution now. We have seen the public disregard extremist bullying and fearmongering on either side to enjoin what has been a mainly respectful debate. Mainstream Australians have enthusiastically grasped the chance to express themselves and underline their “fair go” attitude. Many advocates on the No side, including Mr Abbott, have expressed goodwill and promised to be constructive on implementation. This has been an unusual but entirely reasonable process, marred only by unnecessary opposition and acrimony from the extremes. It has enabled more than 12 million Australians to express their view on historic change. The Australian agrees — providing the parliament can settle those important protections — that now is the time to reform the law and allow same-sex couples to express the same loving commitment through marriage that has been the birthright of others.