Tim Wilson says the passing of marriage equality in Australia was an incredible achievement of the Liberal party. The MP posted his thoughts to Twitter, where it drew a negative reaction.
The member for the Victoria seat of Goldstein, who did campaign in favour of the YES vote, told followers the 2017 debate over the issue had taken the nation forward together.
“Passing marriage equality with the community was an incredible achievement for our nation.” Wilson posted.
“It was achieved by a Liberal Party which took the whole of the nation forward together – the cities, the suburbs and regional Australia.”
Wilson’s praise for his party’s contribution was quickly lambasted as people highlighted that the 2004 amendment that defined marriage in Australia as only being between a man and a woman had also been introduced by a Liberal government.
People also cited that the Liberal party had presided over a long a drawn out process to change the laws that included the introduction of a national postal survey, and even after Australians voted in favour of changing the laws many of Wilson’s colleagues had abstained from the final vote, or voted against the bill.
While Wilson voiced his support for the YES campaign during the postal survey, many of his party colleagues campaigned to stop same sex couples from being allowed to wed.
Joe Ball, the CEO of mental health organisation Switchboard Victoria offered to meet with Wilson to highlight the mental health challenges that many people in the community experienced back in 2017.
“If you would like to meet and discuss the reality of the Liberal parties postal survey and it’s affect on the mental health of the LGBTIQ+ community and how it tore Australian families apart, your office has my number.” Ball posted online.
Followers didn’t hold back from also reminding Wilson that the Marriage Equality legislation was not a government bill, but a private members bill put forward by Western Australian senator Dean Smith.
Goldstein set to be a battle ground on election night
Wilson is facing the prospect of losing his blue ribbon seat to challenger Zoe Daniels, who is an independent. If Goldstein falls to an independent it will be the first time the Liberal party has not held the seat, or it’s predecessor Balaclava, since federation.
A poll of over 800 residents of the seat has indicated the Daniels is likely to win the seat next week. Experts have highlighted however than polls in individual seats have a high margin of error.
In the lead up to the election Wilson and Daniels faced off in a battle over election signs. The local council ruled that Daniels’ supporters had put their signs up too soon, but the decision was later overturned in the Victorian Supreme Court, leaving the local council with extensive legal costs.
Freedom of information requests later revealed that Wilson had lobbied the council to take action, with his office supplying them with spreadsheets listing all of the addresses where signs supporting Daniels were on display.
OIP Staff
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