Culture

Magda Szubanski Confronted A Nationals Senator And Spoke About LGBTIQ Suicide Rates On ‘Q&A’

"What is going on in a democracy that the majority, by far the majority view, is not getting represented?"

by Tom Clift  20 September 2016

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Actor Madga Szubanski butted heads with Nationals senator Fiona Nash, while also accusing Malcolm Turnbull of “caving-in” to conservatives on marriage equality, on last night’s fiery episode of Q&A.

The Plebiscite Probably Won’t Go Ahead; So What Does That Mean For Marriage Equality?

Appearing on the panel alongside Nash, Labor MP Tony Burke, minor party senator Jacqui Lambie and musician Jimmy Barnes, Szubanski, who identifies as gay, dismissed the plebiscite on same-sex marriage as “an expensive opinion poll,” and slammed the PM for failing to stand up to right wing backbenchers like George Christensen.

“I had a look at the figures, and [George Christensen’s] primary vote was 38,000 people,” said Szubanski. “His two-party preferred vote was 48,000 people. There are 23,500,000 people in this country, 72 per cent of whom are in favour of marriage equality. What gives George Christensen this amount of power?”

“What is going on in a democracy that the majority, by far the majority view, is not getting represented?” she asked. “People get frustrated, and then they kind of get frustrated with gays, like ‘we want this issue to go away.’ Well so do we.”

Responding to a question from an audience member about the alarming rates of suicide in the LGBTQI community, Szubanski pointed to the importance of symbolism, shutting down arguments that same-sex couples should be satisfied with a legal union other than marriage.

“If you want to look at the importance of symbolism, think about Rosa Parks,” said Szubanski. “She refused to sit at the back of the bus. She still would have got to her destination, but we know what the back of the bus means. It’s humiliating, it’s denigrating, it means that you’re not considered to be a fully human person. Every time they knock back those bills in parliament, how do you think we feel? We know it’s telling us we’re lesser. That contributes to the lack of self-esteem, and the self-harm that LGBTQI people have done to ourselves for decades.”

Szubanski also spoke about her own experiences with suicidal thoughts. “To be honest, I was suicidal,” she said. “When I was 11, 12, 13, and knew that I was gay, and that this was not going to change and that I had no control of it, I knew it would mean an absolutely terrible life. I couldn’t foresee that things would change so much.”

Szubanski was joined in her opposition to the plebiscite by Barnes, who said it was “naive” and “really dumb” to claim that the public debate around the vote would remain civil. 

Later in the program, Szubanski also confronted Nash, asking “if I was your daughter, being gay, would you think that I should have the right to be married?” The National Party deputy leader responded by saying that “my view is still the traditional view of marriage.”

“I completely respect your view and your desire,” she added, before Szubanski cut her off, remarking “but you won’t give me my rights. Thanks for nothing.”