SOPHIE ISMAIL, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR MELBOURNE: Its good to be here in the heart of Fitzroy with Penny Wong at Hares and Hyenas, an LGBTI bookshop. There are literally only a handful of LGBTI bookshops in the world and we are extraordinarily lucky to have one of the best here in Melbourne. You will see behind me books, DVDs, magazines. Hares and Hyenas is also a performance space and they host thousands of art exhibitions, panel discussions, book launches, etcetera, giving a voice to many diverse voices and aspects of our community, including trans, Indigenous, HIV positive - people of all persuasions , backgrounds and agendas. Community spaces like this are so vital because they tell our stories, our communitys stories, which are often overlooked by the mainstream media. So if you havent been down to Hares and Hyenas please come down and check it out, buy a book, and make sure that this venue, which really in Melbourne is the closest thing that we have to a queer community centre, can continue to thrive.
Penny Wong needs no introduction. She has been a staunch and courageous advocate for LGBTI rights over many years. She is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, the Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment, she is our most prominent gay politician, a trailblazer and an inspiration to many in our community, including myself. And she has recently written a compelling and powerful argument in favour of marriage equality in the most recent addition of The Monthly. If you havent read it I encourage you to do so.
For me the most compelling reason to support marriage equality is that in a democracy equality is simply not negotiable. The idea that as human beings we all have equal worth and equal value, the idea that not a single one of us is above the law and equally none of us are below it sits the cornerstone of freedom and justice for every single Australian. It is the heart of the social contract that we all sign up to. Of course in a democracy rights are a balancing act. We have both the right to freedom of religion and the right to be free from discrimination, and individuals and groups cant exercise their rights and freedoms in a way that unreasonably impinges on the rights and freedoms of others.
Let me be clear about this - the only reason that we dont have marriage equality is because of irrational fear and prejudice. The arguments by conservatives like Tony Abbott have little to do with marriage and family and everything to do with homophobia. So it is time to call it for what it is, move past it and get this done. Ill hand over to Penny Wong.
WONG: Thanks very much. Its great to be here with a fly that appears to be very pro-marriage equality. Great to be here in Melbourne and thank you to Sophie for inviting me and thanks to Hares and Hyenas for hosting us here. I want to talk today about marriage equality. This is something we know Malcolm Turnbull believes in and my message to Malcolm is dont let Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and others stand in the way of what you really believe. Hold a free vote, bring the bill into the Parliament, allow the bill to be debated.
We know that there is support for marriage equality in the Australian community. We saw on television I think last night Mark Textor, someone who the Liberals have used for years in terms of their polling research, saying that his research shows that most Australians support marriage equality. But we dont need a poll, we can walk around and talk to the people who sent us to parliament. So the only reason we are having a plebiscite is as a delaying tactic, as a sop to Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and others who will never support equal laws when it comes to marriage.
So Id say to Malcolm Turnbull, let the bill come forward and be debated. My colleague Terri Butler has made clear she will bring the bill into Parliament, she will try to get it on for debate. Malcolm it is time to do what you know is right and allow that legislation to be debated.
I fear what a plebiscite will mean. Ive made clear that I think that the potential for hate speech, for disrespect and damaging images and words for LGBTI Australians, particularly young people. We have already seen some of that, we have seen on social media a Marriage Alliance advertisement which has somebody with a rainbow noose around their neck. It is distasteful and insensitive. This is not a debate this country needs. What this country needs is Malcolm Turnbull to stand up for what he believes in and, rather than just saying something, its time for him to do something. Happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask you about the leak of a Cabinet paper on possible changes to immigration, what you think about that?
WONG: Well I have only seen the reports, obviously I havent seen the Cabinet document itself, but I would make a couple of comments. First is this appears to be a leak from the National Security Committee of Cabinet. That is an extraordinary breach of security and something the Prime Minister needs to ensure doesnt occur.
The second comment I would make is this: the reporting of that document suggests that the government would be contemplating an ethnic or racial focus to how we handle migration. I think that would be really going back to a very dark period in Australias history if that were the case. We once had a migration policy that was predicated on race and we abolished it before I was born it was called the White Australia policy.
So I think Malcolm Turnbull needs to ensure that he explains very clearly to the Australian people what the government is contemplating and all citizens are treated equally. Thanks very much.