Politics

“You Can’t Breed Us Out”: Magda Szubanski Was On Fire On Last Night’s Marriage Equality ‘Q&A’

"I believe fundamentally in my bones you can't set a precedent where 10 percent of the population are less equal than others"

by Tom Clift  24 October 2017
Magda Szubanski Marriage Equality Q&A

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Thank god for Magda Szubanski. Since the beginning of the postal survey on marriage equality, she’s been one of the most vocal voices in the Yes campaign, championing LGBTIQ rights in the media at every possible opportunity. So it was that she found herself on the panel during last night’s episode of Q&A, patiently debunking every argument the No campaign could muster.

Szubanski was joined on the panel by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies, Jesuit priest and human rights lawyer Frank Brennan, and federal Liberal party vice president and No campaign spokesperson Karina Okotel. The episode was dedicated entirely to the marriage debate, and the actor was in fine form from the moment the show began.

“I decided to vote no,” came the first question from the audience. “When talking to my friends who are also voting no, one fact is really clear — those who vote Yes continually tell No voters that we are haters and bigots for our views.”

“My question to you is why can’t I have a right to my view without being branded as a hater or a bigot?”

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“You totally do, and I wouldn’t brand you as a homophobe,” replied Szubanski. “There are some people who genuinely really have issues with LBGTQI people but I certainly wouldn’t say all people who vote no are homophobes.”

Szubanski added that there had been “viciousness” on both sides of the debate, although when Davies seized on this point by bringing up bullying against No voters, she was quick to point out that the scales were far from balanced.

“I can match you, and then some, for the abuse that I’ve received, and that many people in the Yes campaign [have received] for years,” she said. “‘Get AIDS and die pervert’. ‘You’re a paedophile’. It has been very nasty on the extremes, and generally we don’t give air to that, but I do feel I have to correct this lopsided perception that the Yes [campaign] are bullies.”

Later in the show, following a question about civil unions as a substitute for marriage, Szubanski spoke about the symbolic importance of marriage as an institution.

“It’s like the Brownlow Medal,” she said. “If someone wins the Brownlow Medal, they win the Brownlow Medal. What would you say to a gay player? They win the Brownlow Medal, but we’re going to call it ‘The Civil Acknowledgement of Your Very Excellent Effort?'”

“This is coming on the tail end of the oppressions that we’ve been through,” she continued. “I don’t want to come across as a whinger, but we have to acknowledge the history of this. What it would mean to us to be fully acknowledged, I don’t know if you can really understand after the bashings, the discriminations, the murders. This isn’t just out of the blue. It comes within an historical context.”

Szubanski also disputed the idea that changing the definition of marriage was some kind of slippery slope that would fundamentally alter the fabric of society.

“We’re a really small percentage of the population,” she said. “We’re not asking 100 percent of the Australian population to enter into same-sex marriages.”

“You can’t breed us out of existence because we do originate mostly from straight people. But there does seem to be a constant number of roughly 10% of same-sex attracted people. It’s not like there’s an army of us who are going to take over. We just want to have the same rights and protections [as straight couples].”

One of the most memorable moments of the episode came when Szubanski clashed with Davies about the church’s position on marriage.

“I accept the church will never marry me,” Szubanski said to Davies. “That grieves me in ways you will never know. I’m the one in my family, when I buried my parents, I organised every detail of the requiem masses, I wrote the orders of service, I put the pall over my mother’s coffin. I accept the Catholic Church will never marry me, but you won’t even let me marry outside the church.”

“In your domain, you do what you like,” she continued. “We live in a live and let live society. I don’t want to tell anyone else what to do. Why should you have the right to tell me or any other person, straight or gay, what they do in the civil domain?”

“I don’t think the views that I’ve expressed have been telling anyone what to believe,” replied Davies.

“You paid a million dollars to fund the No campaign,” Szubanski shot back.

But Szubanski saved arguably her best response until last. At the end of the show, each panellist was asked whether they would accept the result of the postal survey and stop campaigning, regardless of the outcome.

“I believe fundamentally in my bones you can’t set a precedent where 10 percent of the population are less equal than others,” said the actor. “I will continue to try and somehow get people to understand what it is like for me and other LGBTQI people. How profoundly insulting it is to be told you’re lesser than and be reminded on an institutional basis constantly.”

“I’ll be very sad if it comes through as a No vote. Can I agree to live in a country where there’s more equality for some than for others? I would really struggle with that.”