One year ago today Western Australians gathered at the Northbridge Piazza to hear the results of the marriage equality postal survey.
As the results were being read out on the east coast of Australia, the time difference meant Western Australians had to be up early to hear the announcement at 7:30am.
The day before the gathering the police were asking how many people organisers of the Equality campaign were expecting. Predictions were low, it was assumed that few people would get up and out to hear to news, and most would probably just watch it on television.
We were wrong. The piazza was packed with people before 7am, and the single coffee truck that had been organised was working hard. As the news of the result broke there were cheers, tears, signs of relief and warm embraces. It which a campaign that crossed political ideologies, bridged generation gaps and in many ways was a unifying moment.
This morning a small group of people gathered in the piazza to reflect on the year that has passed. We chatted about how many weddings we had been to. People shared that they’d found the fall out from the campaign so upsetting that in some cases they’d sought counselling. They reflected on the highlights of the experience, and the many negative moments.
Tonight SBS is playing a documentary Australia Says Yes! It’s a great documentary, tune in – watch it. It gets up close and personal with Magda Szubanski, Kerryn Phelps, Alex Greenwich, Peter de Waal and a few others. Documentary storytelling has its limitations, and this case the story is all set in Sydney.
As Rodney Croome wrote in OUTinPerth today, we have remember this history and we have record it and share it. As Louise Pratt said today, and Janet Rice yesterday – we must make sure no other group in society ever go through the process of a postal vote on human rights.
In Perth we have to remember the work of Emma Gibbens, Sam Cavallaro, Paul Benson, Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett, Lynn MacLaren, Amber Maxwell, Louise Pratt, Michele Davis, Dean Smith, Miranda Wood, Alison Xamon, Jayne McFadyen, Father Chris Bedding, Father Peter Manuel, Joey Cookman McCauley, Jacqueline Blackburn, Carolyn Smith, Sue Lines and many others.
While Sydney has declared it’s renaming the section of Centennial Park where Sydneysiders heard the announcement as Equality Green. We should remember that this movement of equality happened all over Australia.
Equality Piazza sounds pretty good.
Graeme Watson
