By Phillip Coorey
In Brisbane last Wednesday, 25 middle-aged and elderly parents met the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland.
They came from all over Queensland and were of various political persuasions. Their common bond was that all had a gay child and they wanted that child to have the right to marry.
"The Marriage Act is written by lawyers, not by God" ... Graham Perrett, MP.Credit: Eddie Safarik
Poignant stories were exchanged about the ostracising of gay people in the community and the mental health problems that can result. One 82-year-old gentleman lamented that his son had moved to Canada, where gay marriage is legal, and would not return to Australia because he felt like a second-class citizen here.
McClelland gave no commitment but responded with empathy, saying such stories would be important as debate on the topic grew.
In his guise as Attorney-General, McClelland has done more than any other legislator to promote equal rights for gays. One of the first acts of the Rudd government was to remove discrimination in almost 100 areas of Commonwealth law, thus giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in such areas as superannuation and welfare.
Also at the lunchtime meeting, which doubled as a fund-raiser, was Labor MP Graham Perrett, who holds the Brisbane seat of Moreton. Perrett is a member of the Left faction, is a practising Catholic and has two gay brothers. He is inclined to support gay marriage but, like many other MPs at the moment, is canvassing the views of his electorate before making a final determination. "The Marriage Act is written by lawyers, not by God,'' he reasons.
Perrett was a school teacher before becoming a politician and much of the bullying he witnessed among kids had homophobic overtones, regardless of whether it was relevant to a specific incident. "If we as a state could diminish that prejudice, that's a legacy I could live with,'' Perrett says.
Labor, which opposes gay marriage as policy, is to confront the issue at its national conference in December. Soon after that, the issue is likely to come before the Parliament. Despite the occasional poll showing public sentiment is ahead of politics - a majority either supports gay marriage or is completely indifferent towards it - there is little likelihood of it becoming law any time soon.
Julia Gillard was smart to bring forward the national conference, which is usually held mid- or late-term. This enables the party to have a few real blues on issues without having to be mindful of an imminent election.
It is likely the conference will agree to change policy on gay marriage to that of a conscience vote. The Left will support it and so will about half the Right. One source said that if the push was to legalise gay marriage, the Right will split 30 per cent for and 70 per cent against. If it is for a conscience vote, then the Right will split 50-50. So the numbers are there to change policy at conference with the conscience vote, rather than outright support, being the most likely.
The conscience vote is also Gillard's favoured option because she is on the record as opposing gay marriage and has assured the powerful Christian lobby of that in person. The next challenge for gay marriage advocates will be the Parliament. Coalition policy opposes gay marriage and Tony Abbott is unlikely to grant a conscience vote. Abbott acknowledges there are some in the Coalition who support gay marriage but does not believe them to be of sufficient number to warrant a conscience vote.
With a Coalition voting "no'', all the Greens and a majority of Labor MPs voting ''yes'' will not garner sufficient numbers for change. Still, there remains potential for this issue to cause real trouble between Labor and the Greens. The Greens have said that once Labor changed its policy, they will activate a private members bill legalising gay marriage to test the Parliament.
As well as stirring up those who claim Labor is "too close'' to the Greens, such a move will anger the Labor Left, which has been fighting for internal change for years. Any bill that gets debated in Parliament is going to be a Labor bill, they say.
The bill may go down in flames but if Labor is to claw back any of the support that has shifted to the Greens - who are sitting on a primary vote of about 12 per cent - the factional operators reason that it makes sense for the ALP Left to be seen fighting for gay marriage.
"All of us who have fought hard for this are not going to stand back and let the Greens get the credit. F--- that!'' one said.
Phillip Coorey is Sydney Morning Herald chief political correspondent.
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