New Australian PM Julia Gillard is no fan of same-sex marriage
Julia Gillard took over today as Australia’s first female prime minister after Kevin Rudd’s withdrawal from the leadership of the Australian Labor [sic] party. Ms Gillard, who will be officially sworn in next week, has been described as a committed and savvy politician by pundits, but, apparently, is no fan of gay marriage.
The Advocate point out that in 2009, when interviewed on Sky PM Agenda, Ms Gillard was forced to express her views. She said, “The goverment’s position is very clear that marriage is marriage between a man and a woman.”
She added, “But we understand, I understand, that there are other forms of committed adult relationships and that people want them registered and recognised. And we have obviously said in the past that we understand that there are schemes in states that are moving along to recognise committed adult relationships.”
When David Speers, the journalist conducting the interview, pointed out to Ms Gillard that her reply failed to address the reason why same sex couples shouldn’t be entitled to get married, she replied that the government had acted on all sorts of discrimination against same sex couples.
However, there are those who see Ms Gillard’s appointment as a ray of hope for marriage equality. National Convener of Australian Marriage Equality Alex Greenwich said, “We are hopeful Julia Gillard has an open mind on marriage equality. Unlike Kevin Rudd, She is not known for putting conservative religious prejudices ahead of legal equality and fundamental human rights.”
