King gauges Ballarat views on same-sex marriage

By Kim Quinlan
Updated November 2 2012 - 4:34pm, first published May 27 2011 - 2:00pm
Catherine King
Catherine King

BALLARAT MP Catherine King is the latest federal politician to weigh into the controversial debate on same-sex marriages in Australia. Ms King has used her official parliamentary website to launch an online survey asking constituents for their views. A House of Representatives motion passed last year called for all MPs to gauge community attitudes on the issue, but Ms King is one of only a handful of MPs to launch formal surveys ahead of a planned debate at Labor’s December national conference. Human Services and Social Inclusion Minister Tanya Plibersek and opposition frontbenchers Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull have all launched similar surveys. The short online questionnaire asks participants to respond to the party’s stated definition of marriage — as being between a man and a woman. It then asks respondents if they have raised the issue with their elected representatives previously. Ms King would not respond to questions about her personal position on same-sex marriage, but said it had been raised with her in emails, petitions and personal representations.Her position before last year’s federal election was in line with the ALP policy. “It is clear from this that there are mixed views in our community on the issue,” Ms King said in a written statement. “While the government currently does not recognise same-sex marriages, it does believe that couples who have committed to sharing their lives together should be able to have their relationships recognised by law,” she said, A planned vote at the Victorian ALP state conference last week was abandoned due to a lack of voting delegates. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has expressed her opposition to gay marriage, but several government ministers support reform. Equal Love Campaign spokesperson Ali Hogg said the pace of change was moving too slowly, but there were signs politicians were considering change. “The main thing we need to do is not rely on politicians to bring change, but take a stand ourselves and demand it,” she said. Ms King’s office was unable to confirm how many people had completed the online survey, or how the results would affect her personal position ahead of the ALP conference.

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