Same-sex marriage: Yes voters of Australia, you’ve done us very proud

It took many years of struggle but finally Australians have ­accepted that same-sex couples are entitled to marry and join in our endless pursuit of the Australian dream.

It was heartwarming to see the ­explosion of joy as the survey ­result was announced. The relief felt by so many was best illustrated by the reaction of opposition Senate leader Penny Wong. Her spontaneous, deeply personal tears summed up for me why this was a reform whose time has well and truly come. The fact that the Yes vote number had a six in front of it said it all. Newspoll said it would be 63 per cent a couple of weeks ago and this reinforces why we never had any need to spend $100 million on a survey when we knew all along what the result would be.

Finally, a triumphant Malcolm Turnbull had something to trumpet rather than excuse or defend. His beaming smile showed that he, perhaps even more than the same-sex couples directly affected, was truly delighted. Bill Shorten turned up at the Melbourne park gathering and, in his best trade union shouting style, basked in a day of considerable glory. He did deliver by far the best line of the day: “Today we celebrate, ­tomorrow we legislate.” It would be wonderful if that sentiment could now be shared among all senators and MPs, but among the vanquished are some who want to reintroduce discrimination at the very time the nation has voted overwhelming to scrap it.

Attorney-General George Brandis was interviewed by ­Kieran Gilbert on Sky News and made the good point that this is simply about the legislation for same-sex marriage. It is not about a backdoor attempt to create a bill about religious freedoms. I have some sympathy for those who do not want their children to be subjected to some aspects of the Safe Schools program. I cannot see why any provision of this should be ­inserted into a bill on the subject of same-sex marriage. When it comes to the provision of the delivery of human services, I hold a similar view. Kevin Andrews is worried about a gay baker who might refuse to bake a cake for a Christian wedding or an Islamic celebration. Apart from ever finding this mythical dope who is knocking back $300 or $400 in a cutthroat business, surely the Fair Work Act is the right place for this concern to be addressed. It has not gone unnoticed either that many of those who were bitterly opposed to the idea of a bill of rights of the US kind now seem to be jumping on the bandwagon to ­demand a de facto religious bill of rights.

Australian conservatives had their chance and lost. I am absolutely certain, though, that the likes of Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott and Andrews knew that the Yes vote was an absolute certainty. They knew they were swimming against the tide of modern Australian thinking and I admire them for sticking up for what they firmly believe. If every possible religious protection is somehow tacked on to a same-sex marriage bill it will water down a comprehensive ­survey result on a completely ­different subject so close to the core of the very being of millions of Australians.

One stark difference to the days when I was in the Senate, and they ended almost a quarter of a century ago, was to see the number of proud, out-of-the-closet gay MPs and senators showing their relief and joy. In the 1980s there were almost no openly gay parliamentarians. They, like many Australians, were so afraid of ridicule and derision that they were forced to keep their lifestyle and their love a secret. Homophobia was as rife then as it is isolated now. That as a nation we have come so far in just one generation gives me another reason to feel good about the country in which I live.

Now, let’s turn to the curious state of politics in South Australia. The latest Galaxy poll produced a result that, while unsurprising to anyone who has been following events there, is an outstanding ­example of how much the major parties are on the nose.

Labor under Jay Weatherill has become not much more than a sick joke. Galaxy had Labor at a historically low 24 per cent. This is thoroughly deserved. You would be entitled to ask yourself how the political climate could deteriorate so much for Labor after an unexpected victory in the election 3½ years ago. The decline has ­acce­lerated in 18 months and it all boils down to energy — or lack of it.

A pig-headed determination to throw all into the renewable ­energy industry and ignore the need for baseload power has culminated in the prospect of slaughter for the Labor government at the March election. So many South Australians’ homes and businesses have been ravaged by blackouts, and they won’t forget on whose watch this occurred. The hopelessness of this government with its attempt to introduce a bank tax on top of the levy already imposed by Morrison was truly on display. Having caused drama for six months, it has been embarrassingly dumped because the numbers to pass it in the upper house were not there.

The Liberals, meanwhile, have been utterly unable to profit from Labor’s mess. Their leader, Steven Marshall, just can’t cut it. In the Galaxy poll, the Liberals were at a dreadful 31 per cent — just 1 per cent more than Nick Xenophon’s SA Best. Knowing how much they will need Xenophon, Marshall chose to put out the line that a vote for SA Best was a vote to extend Labor’s term to 20 years. This was breathtakingly stupid, as has been Labor’s attitude to Xenophon for the past two decades.

SA Best will not run in every lower house seat but I would be very surprised if it doesn’t win quite a few and hold the balance of power. Far from being a hindrance, the animosity of the major parties towards him is another bonus for Xenophon. By leaving the Senate, he is now a very big fish in a much smaller pond. He will romp into the seat of Hartley where he was born and has lived most of his life.

With new reports suggesting there will be more blackouts in SA this summer, I wonder just how low Labor’s vote can go. There is a warning here too for federal Labor. A desperate Prime Minister will be shouting “Blackout Bill” from the rooftops as long as Labor continues to walk away from any concern about the closure of more coal-fired power stations over the next few years. This could be a long hot summer that Shorten does not need.