And I might add that for all Abbott's "we are not the Labor party" rhetoric, he was the one who after forming the divisive same-sex marriage policy with the Nationals (which Christopher Pyne labelled as branch stacking!) then went ahead and told members that crossing the floor to exercise a conscious vote would be viewed as disloyalty! The right to exercise a conscious vote is a core Liberal Party value - it is what separates Liberal from Labor. Labor is the party that won't under any circumstances allow their constituents the right to exercise a conscious vote.
I believe strongly that Turnbull will reform this policy and refine it into something workable - either a date for plebiscite needs to be set - or preferentially the policy should be dumped so that we can push ahead with a referendum on the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and forget about matters that do not require a referendum for change. If a plebiscite is going to go ahead then it needs to go ahead as soon as possible before the next election.
But look honestly it's a stupid dud policy. It costs tens of millions of dollars. A plebiscite is not enforceable - parliament would still need to vote on it. We haven't had one since the 1970's and that's because it's a stupid out of date way to make decisions that the parliament can decide - that's what they're elected to do. It's way out of touch with the present just like Abbott reintroducing knighthoods and damehoods (which had been discontinued in Australia in 1986 less than 10 years after their original introduction) and then promptly knighting Prince Philip - someone who isn't even an Australian, and is the exact opposite image of a liberated democracy. It's one thing to be a Monarch, but it's quite another to force those views on everyone - especially when you later admit this was another "captain's call" that the Cabinet had no involvement in deciding over.
And by the way, there's no chance that given a free vote on both sides of parliament that same-sex marriage legislation would get through the current Parliament. It'd come close, but it doesn't have support of at least 75 sitting MP's. So why Abbott felt he had to so forcefully preserve the status quo I'm not sure. Gillard never had any problem preserving the "we don't support it" position - and she's as atheist as they come. She's since changed her mind since leaving parliament mind you. A free vote won't do anything until one side decides on making the party vote "yes".
I believe strongly that Turnbull will reform this policy and refine it into something workable - either a date for plebiscite needs to be set - or preferentially the policy should be dumped so that we can push ahead with a referendum on the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and forget about matters that do not require a referendum for change. If a plebiscite is going to go ahead then it needs to go ahead as soon as possible before the next election.
But look honestly it's a stupid dud policy. It costs tens of millions of dollars. A plebiscite is not enforceable - parliament would still need to vote on it. We haven't had one since the 1970's and that's because it's a stupid out of date way to make decisions that the parliament can decide - that's what they're elected to do. It's way out of touch with the present just like Abbott reintroducing knighthoods and damehoods (which had been discontinued in Australia in 1986 less than 10 years after their original introduction) and then promptly knighting Prince Philip - someone who isn't even an Australian, and is the exact opposite image of a liberated democracy. It's one thing to be a Monarch, but it's quite another to force those views on everyone - especially when you later admit this was another "captain's call" that the Cabinet had no involvement in deciding over.
And by the way, there's no chance that given a free vote on both sides of parliament that same-sex marriage legislation would get through the current Parliament. It'd come close, but it doesn't have support of at least 75 sitting MP's. So why Abbott felt he had to so forcefully preserve the status quo I'm not sure. Gillard never had any problem preserving the "we don't support it" position - and she's as atheist as they come. She's since changed her mind since leaving parliament mind you. A free vote won't do anything until one side decides on making the party vote "yes".
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
