Indonesia won’t break Australian ties over same-sex marriage
Australia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (Michael Masters/Getty Images)
Indonesia’s foreign ministry has said it would not allow relations with Australia to be tarnished if same-sex marriage were to be made legal there.
This came despite claims from Australia’s agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, that same-sex marriage could make the country seem “decadent” to Asian nations, and that it would harm relations.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is a staunch opponent of equal marriage, but is facing pressure to allow his MPs a free vote on a cross-party marriage bill, following progress in Ireland and the United States.
Ahead of a bill that is set to come to a vote in August, Joyce warned that allowing gay people legal equality could lead to “judgement” from trade partners in Asia.
A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry, Arrmanatha Nasir, said the issue was one for the Australian Government to address, as it would only affect Australian law.
