WARREN ENTSCH is a former crocodile-catcher, whose federal parliamentary seat covers a remote tropical region of Australia bigger than Bangladesh. His home state of Queensland and his party, the ruling Liberals, are both conservative. Mr Entsch calls himself “the stereotype redneck”. He is also one of Australia’s most zealous advocates for making gay marriage legal. Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, has called a non-binding referendum on the issue early next year. Politicians, however, are bitterly divided over whether asking voters to decide is the best approach. Their rancour will be evident when parliament reconvenes on October 10th.
Australia is one of the few rich countries that still maintain a ban on same-sex marriage. When it was enacted 55 years ago, the federal Marriage Act never defined marriage. Pitching for votes on “family values” before an election in 2004, John Howard, a former Liberal prime minister, amended the law to say that marriage is “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others”. Far from settling the matter, Mr Howard bequeathed political discord to his party. A recent opinion poll showed...Continue reading
from Asia http://ift.tt/2deYgyf
EmoticonEmoticon