Politics

Malcolm Turnbull Again Claims Credit For Same-Sex Marriage, Gets Shut Down Immediately

Malc's witty quip didn't go as planned.

by Jared Richards  11 January 2021
Malcolm Turnbull claims his 'spine' is responsible for same-sex marriage, LGBTIQ+ Australians shut him down

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Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is currently copping flack for again daring to suggest he, and not the public who endured the nightmarish plebiscite, was responsible for Australia legalising same-sex marriage.

Turnbull has long attempted to frame same-sex marriage as part of his coalition government’s legacy, something which LGBTIQ+ people are quick to refute.

While it’s true that the Liberal party did draft the bill that legalised same-sex marriage in 2017, it came only after Turnbull elected to first create a non-legally binding postal plebiscite, opening a can of vitriolic worms as the public debated the rights and values of LGBTIQ+ people. It is not remembered fondly.

Related
Hey Malcolm, I'm Glad You Enjoyed The Postal Survey. It Was One Of The Worst Times Of My Life.

As activist and writer Nic Holas wrote for Junkee back in 2017, “For what you put us through during the postal survey, for what you put queer kids through when you gutted Safe Schools, the LGBTIQ+ community will remember the Turnbull Liberal Government. Probably not when we are walking down the aisle, but certainly when we walk into the voting booth.”

Enter Turnbull, who since being outed by Scott Morrison in 2018 has been vocally critical of Liberal policies he made little efforts to change while leading the party, ranging from climate change to media reform.

Fed up with Turnbull’s rebrand, rapper Briggs took to Twitter on Sunday night to ask the ex-PM “imagine you had half spine you pretend you have now when you had the job?”.

Turnbull responded, saying the plebiscite was a sign of his bravery and leadership in government.

He was almost immediately torn apart, with many LGBTIQ+ Australians frustrated by his revisionism. The responses ranged from the concise — “fuck you” — to the more personal, with many detailing just how hurtful the postal plebiscite was for them and their community.

Find a few choice reactions below.