HUME MP Angus Taylor won’t say when he’ll canvass the electorate for its views on marriage equality.
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Mr Taylor told Sky News he wouldn’t weigh in with an opinion on the subject until he had completed “soundings” of his constituents.
The House of Reps backbencher was questioned on the matter during the Lunchtime Agenda program on Wednesday, alongside Labor Senator for Tasmania Lisa Singh.
Throughout questioning, Mr Taylor kept coming back to one key issue; respect.
“The most important part of my view is that we need to respect all sides of this debate. Whatever the consensus that’s going to emerge from this it is incredibly important we be respectful,” Mr Taylor said.
“In my electorate and I think across Australia there are deeply held views here on both sides of this debate and respect is absolutely paramount.
“My view has always been that I should reflect the views of my electorate. I haven’t done soundings on this issue since I’ve been a member of parliament. My predecessor (Alby Schultz) did. I would make those soundings before I made a personal call about what I was going to do with the decision.
“Being a representative really matters when we get to social issues. I’m a member of the House of Representatives and on social issues I think it’s very, very important that I represent the views of my electorate and that’s the approach I’ll take.”
The same sex marriage debate was reignited last week with news out of Ireland of a landmark referendum.
More than 62 per cent voted in favour of the Marriage Act changes to include same-sex couples. The action led to heightened pressure from marriage equality lobbyists around the world.
On our shores, the matter hit the headlines early last week with the announcement of a Private Members bill by Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten and deputy, Tanya Plibersek.
Last Sunday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott ruled out the possibility of an Australian referendum and hoped the issue wouldn’t distract from budget discussions.
By Wednesday afternoon, however, he had loosened the reins on the debate.
Mr Abbott indicated he would support a “conscience vote” in the Liberal Party room and a subsequent parliamentary vote as early as August, provided any legislation was lifted above party politics.
It’s a move that would halt Mr Shorten’s Private Members bill, instead adopting a cross-party approach.
He will, but not yet
SPEAKING with the Post on Friday, Mr Taylor said he wouldn’t undertake electorate “soundings” until legislation was finalised.
He said the matter wasn’t as simple as just saying ‘I support Marriage Equality.’ Instead, it involved nutting out finer details including that of civil unions versus full marriage equality and also keeping in mind the churches and their traditional practices.
“It will take some time. If there is legislation then it will have to go through the House selection committee, and it will be a reasonable amount of time before anything comes to the House,” Mr Taylor explained.
“We don’t yet know at this point whether we are going to have legislation and what form it will take… It would be completely premature to investigate it further before then.
“Some people favour civil ceremonies and are not in favour of strict marriage equality. There are a broad range of views in the community and the form in which this takes is very, very important. For me to go out and spend a lot of time and effort doing soundings before we know what form of legislation would be inappropriate.
“It is your job as an MP to be listening to the community you are looking for what people’s views are but also the strength of feeling. These things aren’t black or white. A good local member is listening to the community all the time.
“Certainly on this issue the very important thing is not just to listen to the people who have megaphones. There are always people, a vast majority of the population, that don’t speak loudly.
“I am one of 100,000 voters in this electorate… I don’t feel that my view carries any more weight than anyone else. I am one in 100,000. We all have views on the issue, even if it’s not strongly felt.”
Meantime, a grassroots community campaign has gathered momentum on social media over the weekend. Entitled ‘Hume supports marriage equality’, the Facebook group description says “it’s time that people unite in support of marriage equality. Let member for Hume Angus Taylor know it’s time to change…”.
POLL: Do you support same sex marriage? (click the link to vote)
More coverage in Wednesday’s Post.