Culture

The Coalition Wants To Legalise Further Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples

Meanwhile, Labor has officially killed off the plebiscite.

by Osman Faruqi  11 October 2016

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Last night the federal government finally released a copy of the marriage equality bill it would attempt to pass in the event of a successful plebiscite. The proposed bill would scrap the reference to marriage being between “a man and a woman” and replace it with “two people”. But it would also allow ministers, civil celebrants and other organisations to legally discriminate against same-sex couples if they “conscientiously object” to their union.

The Coalition’s logic seems to be that getting rid of discrimination in one area, like marriage, needs to be balanced out by allowing it in another.

According to the draft bill, religious ministers would be able to refuse to marry same-sex couples if they personally or religiously objected. That bit isn’t surprising, and it’s something marriage equality campaigners haven’t stridently opposed. But the government wants to extend those exemptions to civil celebrants. On top of that, they want religious organisations involved in providing “facilities, goods or services” for a wedding ceremony to also be able to refuse service to same-sex couples.

Some in the Coalition, including Senator Eric Abetz, want all businesses to be able to refuse service. That means, for example, florists, caterers, photographers and all the people who help make weddings happen would be able to boycott same-sex ceremonies. That’s called discrimination on the basis of sexuality, and it’s normally considered illegal.

According to George Brandis, the proposed exemptions “Hit the sweet spot”, while marriage equality campaigners think they go too far. “We have concerns that we will be seeking clarifications on regarding the exemptions for civil celebrants, an exemptions that celebrants have never asked for,” Alex Greenwich told The Sydney Morning Herald.

It’s worth remembering that this bill would only be debated in the event of a successful marriage equality plebiscite. Today Labor announced that it would not be supporting a plebiscite, something Junkee reported would happen last month. With the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team already declaring their opposition to a plebiscite, it means the public vote has officially been killed off.

So what next for marriage equality? Well, no one really knows. Campaigners are likely to call for a parliamentary vote on the issue, but the government has already ruled that out. So we could have a situation where there is no reform over the next three years and Australia continues to lag further and further behind the rest of the world.