Australian PM Rudd Vows Gay Marriage Bill

Jakarta Globe – AFP, August 12, 2013

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks at the National Press Club
 in Canberra during a debate with conservative opposition leader Tony
Abbott on August 11, 2013. (AFP Photo/Andrew Meares)

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Monday it was time to end the “acrimonious” debate on same-sex marriage, after he vowed to introduce a bill legalizing the unions if returned to office.

If re-elected on Sept. 7, Rudd said Labor would introduce a bill within 100 days, becoming the first Australian leader to promise to support marriage equality.

“Frankly, in 2013, I think the time has come to put this acrimonious debate behind us,” the leader, who has previously been against gay marriage, told reporters on Monday.

Rudd, who is trailing conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott in opinion polls, said it was a reform millions of Australians had waited a long time to see become law.

“I’ve been thinking about the meaning of marriage for a long time — and I won’t hide the fact that this has been a journey for me,” he said.

“But here is what I know: we are at our best when we give all Australians the same dignity, the same opportunity for happiness.

“I believe that no matter who we love, we all should be able to make that same promise I was able to make to Therese over 30 years ago. That all of us should be allowed to marry the one we love,” he added, referring to his wife Therese Rein.

Rudd initially promised to introduce the bill during the first leaders’ debate of the election campaign on Sunday night.

Although his ruling Labor Party formally changed its position on the issue in December 2011 to a pro-gay marriage stance, Rudd and his predecessor Julia Gillard have both historically been against the reform.

A one-sided conscience vote last September was defeated 98 votes to 42 after Abbott refused to allow opposition MPs to break with party lines, rendering it a null prospect.

Both Gillard and Rudd voted no in the September ballot but Rudd, a Christian, has since changed his position.

He urged Abbott to allow politicians on his side to also be allowed a conscience vote so any legislation could be supported by parliamentarians from both major parties.

But the conservative leader of a Liberal Party and National Party coalition said that while he knew the subject was “passionately important” to many Australians, including his openly-lesbian sister Christine Forster, it was not a crucial election issue.

“I’ve got to say that as far as an incoming Coalition government is concerned, the priority will be on things like reducing cost-of-living pressure and increasing job security,” he said.

Same-sex unions are available in a majority of Australian states but because marriage comes under federal legislation these couples are not formally recognized as married by the government.

Gay rights group Australian Marriage Equality welcomed Rudd’s commitment, but said it meant nothing unless Abbott also agreed to a vote. “Kevin Rudd can’t achieve this reform by himself, he needs the Coalition to also have a conscience vote if this reform is to have a fighting chance,” AME director Rodney Croome said.

The National Marriage Coalition, which opposes same-sex unions, insisted children “have a right to a mother and a father.”

“We call upon all parties to focus on what matters most to Australians, guiding the nation always to a better future,” spokesman Gerard Calilhanna said.

Agence France-Presse