A Nationals Senator Was Confronted By Her Gay Brother About The Plebiscite On Last Night’s ‘Q&A’
It was pretty awkward.
Just in case you thought that last week’s surprisingly lovely, politician-free episode was set to become the new norm, Q&A swung hard back into familiar territory overnight and boy, was it just the worst. Chief shit-stirrer Tony Jones was joined by Labor Senator Doug Cameron, Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie and Greens Senator Larissa Waters, along with Diverse Australasian Women’s Network founder Dai Le and noxious gas cloud Rowan Dean, for a solid hour of bickering about everything from gun control to foreign political donations to mental health.
But the real show-stopper came at the end of the program, courtesy of a video question from McKenzie’s brother Alastair about the controversial same-sex marriage plebiscite.
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“Given that the majority of parliamentarians and Australian’s now support marriage equality, is a $160 million plebiscite necessary, and what impact do you think the debate will have on the emotional wellbeing of gay [sic] and lesbians like me,” asked McKenzie.
Yeah, it was pretty awkward.
In response to her brother’s question, Senator McKenzie said that she believed the plebiscite would only be damaging “if all of us as Australians choose to actually not respect each other’s views,” a point that feels ever so slightly undercut by the sustained abuse faced by LGBTQI people since literally always.
McKenzie also danced awkwardly around a question about whether she would vote according to the outcome of the plebiscite, ultimately suggesting that the public vote should be binding so that parliamentarians weren’t forced to decide between their personal opinions and having to do their actual jobs.
“There is tension for some MPs, like myself, on both sides of the aisle, between our desire to respect the sovereign will of the Australian people, and our conscience,” she said. “One way to address [the tension] is by having a binding plebiscite.”
Whatever the outcome, you get the feeling that Christmas dinner is going to be a wee bit tense in the McKenzie household this year.