Same-sex marriage: Gay Australia should thank Malcolm Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was all smiles yesterday when he spoke about the postal vote result with Senator Mathias Cormann at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

Okay, so why is nobody saying the obvious this morning? The success of the same-sex marriage survey is a giant victory for Malcolm Turnbull.

He has actually won one. His opponents, left and right, don’t like it, but it’s true.

Remember: the idea that Australia should maybe have a national survey on same-sex marriage has, over the past year, been mocked and derided by pretty much everyone.

Except Turnbull. He stuck at it.

The reason you’re now seeing pure joy on the faces of young and the old is because Turnbull managed to get it done.

The reason you’re seeing the Empire State building up in rainbow lights is also because of Turnbull’s determination to find a solution.

Remember all the gloom about what a terrible, hateful thing it would be? And yet it ended in a giant party, with the numbers so large in Sydney they had to close Oxford Street, with people weeping and cheering and doing the Locomotion.

He has actually won one!

And yet there is no narrative around what a triumph this is for him.

Why not? I have some theories:

Turnbull promised to take the same-sex issue to the public, and he faced raging opposition at every turn, from his own party, and from the other side.

Tony Abbott rose up like ghost of the party-poopers-past and threatened merry hell with the process, saying it wasn’t about marriage, it was about political correctness and so on, all designed to torpedo the thing.

Abbott has an honestly held belief, a religious conviction, that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that’s fair enough. But let’s not pretend that he also doesn’t enjoy playing havoc with Turnbull’s prime ministership.

But it wasn’t only the Right that Turnbull had to worry about.

The Marriage Equality people — those guys and gals busy partying in the park yesterday — took the survey all the way to the High Court. They actually spent millions trying to bring down the very thing that has bought such joy to the nation.

And then there was the ALP.

Labor has actually been the worst on this issue. Hypocrites of the highest order, they could have legislated for same-sex marriage when they were in office but didn’t, because too many of them were too frightened to lose their seats.

Better to have a CommCar than to give anyone their human rights.

Then, in Opposition, they decided they were all for it, always handy when you no longer actually have any power.

Then, when Turnbull — a staunch supporter of same-sex marriage pretty much all his life — tried to find a tricky way through the mess, Shorten did all he could to kybosh it.

People would die, they said.

And where was Shorten yesterday?

Cheering the victory! Doing a polka on the stage at the Melbourne rally, singing about love, sweet love.

Did he give any credit to Turnbull, while announcing: “Today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate!’’? No.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten celebrates in Melbourne yesterday. Picture: Ted McDonnell

And yet it was Turnbull who soldiered on, saying the public had a right to have their say, convinced in his heart that the ordinary Australian would not let him down.

And he was right.

Now let’s try turning the tables.

Imagine if the Labor Party had taken the same-sex vote to the people, and the Coalition, along with the anti-same-sex marriage people, had taken the matter to the High Court — and then tried to celebrate the victory?

You reckon they’d be no narrative about what monstrous hypocrites they are?

I feel desperately for Penny Wong. You can see how hard she’s worked behind the scenes to drag her party into the 21st century, but she owes Turnbull, too.

You can’t stand there thanking the people of Australia with tears in your eyes and pride in your heart without acknowledging who gave Australia the opportunity to have their say.

And now we don’t have a situation where the Prime Minister and his party is trying to force legislation through the parliament without knowing what the public thinks.

We know exactly what the public thinks.

Which in turn means that even those in the Liberal Party who were voting no — like, say Mattias Cormann –— now have to suck it up and say, okay, you got me.

It’s now a yes from me.

Whatever floats your boat, gay Australia. You want to get married and make like Al Bundy on the couch every night? Knock yourselves out.

Turnbull gave the Australian people, from the rainforest to the sea a rare and special opportunity to do a good thing by their fellow Australians. To speak up. To take a stand. And they did. They said you betcha. And it feels marvellous, because doing a good deed always does.

Australians have delivered marriage equality, but they’ve only be able to do so because of Malcolm Turnbull. That may not suit the narrative of those who seek his demise, but it’s true. Well played, Prime Minister. You’ve just won one of the key civil rights battles of the ages. Good for you.