Kicking off my campaign

I’m deeply concerned about the direction our nation is heading in. It’s an honour to have been chosen to represent the Australian Democrats for the federal seat of Melbourne in this year’s federal election. I think the events of the last few years have made it very clear that we need a strong progressive third force in the Australian Parliament — to knock off to harsh edges of extreme laws like WorkChoices and to prevent the enactment of other laws that breach fundamental human rights.

The Democrats also play a vital role in helping to shape the political agenda in Australia. Over the last two years, I have worked for Democrats leader Senator Lyn Allison on several important campaigns. The first was a campaign to prevent the Australian Government from acquiring and using cluster munitions. Though Lyn’s private bill hasn’t passed, and probably won’t be passed in its current form, our campaign was important because it put the issue in the public consciousness. The Australian Government is now engaged in negotiations for a treaty banning cluster munitions.

Another campaign I’ve more recently been involved in is the campaign to afford same-sex couples the same financial and work-related entitlements that heterosexual couples take for granted. Last week I coordinated an ad hoc parliamentary inquiry into the matter. The committee members will release their final report later in the week. I’ll keep you updated on this.

During the public hearing last Thursday, Liberal MP Warren Entsch relayed a conversation that had taken place at the weekend between Malcolm Turnbull MP and US President George W Bush. Bush supposedly asked Turnbull what the main social issues are in Australia at the moment. Turnbull told him the gay rights is a big issue. Bush said that same-sex marriage is a big issue in America, but his administration didn’t support it. Turnbull said gay marriage isn’t a big issue in Australia, but equal financial and work-related entitlements is. Bush expressed surprise. He said that this isn’t a moral issue — it’s just a matter of fairness and social justice. He’s right. Hopefully our Prime Minister takes note.

I recently wrote a letter on this topic for MCV, a Melbourne paper. The heading was ‘The cost of equality’:

Equality is a big ask. Or so the Federal Government would have us believe. How greedy it is that same-sex couples expect equal treatment, under the law, to their hetero counterparts. It’s a queer old world indeed.

Equality is costly, for starters. If we removed discrimination from our statute books, same-sex couples would be entitled to all sorts of pensions, concessions and other benefits they’re currently denied.

But cost shouldn’t be part of the equation. Imagine using “cost” to deny equal entitlements to some other group in the same way. It wouldn’t happen. So why is it still OK to discriminate against gays and lesbians in such a blatant fashion?

Well, equal entitlements could — heaven forbid — lead to gay marriage or, worse, gay adoption. The foundations of this nation would crumble. (This kind of logic appeals to rational minds like our beloved Health Minister, Tony Abbott, and his partner in anti-gay crime, Kirby-basher Bill Heffernan.)

Then there’s that other cost to consider. The all-important one. Votes. What do equal rights mean electorally? In general, our pollies still shy away from being seen as pro-gay.

I fear that, in the absence of vocal and sustained public pressure, the Australian Democrats’ Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Bill 2007 — a law to end financial and work-related discrimination against gay couples — will fall by the wayside.

My own election campaign hasn’t begun in earnest yet, but I’ve already had the opportunity to speak at a number of forums. My first speaking engagement was at an event organised by the Sri Lankan community in Melbourne. There were several other political representatives there, and I was disappointed that none of them was willing to speak about the human rights abuses and political violence taking place in Sri Lanka.

I also spoke at a rally about our country’s ridiculous anti-terror laws. I firmly believe that there are certain minimum human rights standards we must adhere to, even in the face of a threat as serious as terrorism. When you give ministers unfettered powers, they tend to show very little restraint in exercising those powers. The case of Dr Haneef exposed some of the grave flaws in both our anti-terror legislation and the Immigration Act.

I enjoyed speaking at a large demonstration about nuclear weapons and nuclear power not long ago. I’m very passionate about these issues and in fact spent the first half of the year campaigning on them. I’m really angry that our government now seems willing to sell our uranium to just about any country that asks for it. We once led the world in promoting nuclear disarmament — now we’re very much contributing to the problem.

A couple of weeks ago I spoke at a forum about making poverty history. I outlined the Democrats policy on aid and then made some comments about the Millennium Development Goals. I relayed some personal stories about poverty in Africa. I argued that women’s reproductive health and access to contraceptives is essential if we are to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. The audience was predominantly Catholic, and many disagreed with me on this. However, almost all of them, it seemed, agreed with my argument that there’s a strong link between poverty and militarism. Wars plunge people into poverty or prevent them from escaping poverty, and military expenditure diverts money from development.


Last Wednesday I flew to Sydney to appear on the Susie Show speaking about the International Day of Peace, which is this Friday. For the last few years, I’ve been placing pressure on the Australian Government to support the observance of a global ceasefire on the day. Ceasefires are highly successful at bringing about sustained peace, and they allow aid works to access areas that are ordinarily off limits. During a ceasefire, families can be reunited and information is able to flow freely. Disappointingly, the Australian Government has once again said no to the ceasefire idea, even though it undertook to support it at the UN General Assembly in 2001.

This week was the Albert Park by-election, and the Australian Democrats received one of our highest results in a long time. I enjoyed speaking to people throughout the day about Democrats policies and the way our parliamentarians effect positive change. Everyone I spoke to was very positive. I think that participation in the by-election was a good morale booster for the party. It was a good opportunity for us to show that the party is still alive and well. I enjoyed working with the Democrats candidate, Paul Kavanagh, who is very energetic and committed to the community.