Same-sex marriage is likely to be delayed for at least three years in Australia after the opposition Labor Party yesterday said it would not support a national vote, dealing another potential blow to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Australia’s center-right coalition government last month introduced legislation to the Australian parliament to hold a public vote in February next year on whether to legalize same-sex unions.
The bill required the support of some opposition lawmakers, because Turnbull’s Liberal-National coalition only has a one-vote majority in the lower house of parliament and does not have a majority in the upper house.
Photo: AFP
The rejection is a blow to Turnbull, who has seen his popularity wane amid frustration that he has failed to live up to his progressive reputation.
Same-sex marriage is supported by 61 percent of Australians, a Gallop poll in August found, and Turnbull’s inability to deliver the legislation could further damage his support.
Several independent Australian MPs had already ruled out supporting the national plebiscite on same-sex marriage. The rejection by the center-left Labor Party, which wants same-sex marriages legalized by parliament, ended any hope the plebiscite bill could pass.
“Why should gay Australians be subjected to a different lawmaking process than any other Australians?” Labor leader Bill Shorten said. “Why should a couple in a committed relationship have to knock on the doors of 15 million of their fellow Australians and see if they agree with it? The easiest way is the way which this parliament has done for 100 years — legislate.”
Advocates of same-sex marriage are also concerned public debate around the vote would prove harmful, sparking homophobic rhetoric against same-sex unions.
Turnbull has said that, should the legislation proposing a national vote be rejected, the issue of same-sex marriage would not be reintroduced into parliament until after the next election, which is due in or before November 2019.
Waning political support threatens Turnbull’s position in a country that has seen five prime ministers in nine years, analysts have said.
On a two-party preferred basis — where votes for minor parties are redistributed to the two main blocs — the government trails Labor by a margin of 52 to 48, a Newspoll by the Australian newspaper on Monday showed.
Dissatisfaction with Turnbull’s government is at an all-time high of 56 percent.
“If things don’t turn around by this time next year, and Turnbull’s poll numbers haven’t improved, he will find himself under pressure from within his own party,” said Haydon Manning, an associate professor of political science at Flinders University in Adelaide.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese