Christine Forster is a Sydney city councilor of the center-right Liberal Party of Australia, and the sister of Tony Abbott, the country’s Prime Minister from 2009 until September 2015. She is a prominent supporter of same-sex marriage, which her brother opposes.
Does the advance of same-sex marriage in other countries put pressure on Australia?
Certainly, the result in Ireland was a big mover in Australia. The perception was that Ireland was a traditionally conservative, religious society that had embraced same-sex marriage very strongly. People in Australia began to talk about it as an inevitable reform.
The Australian Capital Territory [ACT] legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, but the High Court invalidated that. How did advocates regroup?
The federal government’s challenge to the ACT law was successful because according to our constitution, marriage falls under federal jurisdiction. However, the High Court also found that the Federal Parliament had the power to legislate same-sex marriage. That was a step forward, although it was a terrible thing for the people who got married in the ACT, whose marriages were no longer recognized. Later, a bill was introduced to the Federal Parliament to legalize same-sex marriage, which triggered a debate within the party if members should be allowed to vote their conscience on the bill. The decision was no, that members would have to stick by the policy of the coalition government, but also, that the issue should be put to a plebiscite sometime during 2016.
Is it problematic to vote on the civil rights of a group of people?
I have never supported a plebiscite; it will be extraordinarily divisive and polarizing…This exposes the community to some very damaging discourse, particularly young gay and lesbian people and the children of gay couples, who might already be feeling pretty vulnerable.
Malcolm Turnbull, who challenged Former PM Tony Abbott for the party leadership, is thought to be more liberal on same-sex marriage. Was that a factor in his success?
The characterization of Turnbull as a more liberal prime minister is based on his positions in the past…He is a supporter of same-sex marriage, and he argued in the party room for a conscience vote. The reality is that he has pledged to maintain all the policies of Tony Abbott on climate change and same-sex marriage…It was my hope that one good thing that would come out of my brother being removed from the Premiership would have been the change on marriage equality, but that is not what has occurred.
Australia does not have a bill of rights to protect minority groups. Is constitutional reform needed?
No. There is a process that, with the right political will, could have been achieved. It won’t be a majority of the majority opposing same-sex marriage for very long, and all polling shows that when the plebiscite happens, it will result in a yes vote…Generally speaking, big social changes have happened in Australia through Parliament.