Daily Archives: August 6, 2017

Supporters of marriage equality march through Sydney on Sunday as the Coalition government gets set to debate its policy. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

Five Liberal MPs released an unprecedented joint statement in support of Dean Smiths marriage equality bill, attracting overwhelming support from advocates as the Liberal party prepared for a bruising debate in a special party room meeting.

But the outcome of the issue remains in play, as Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure from supporters to allow a free vote and opponents urge him to stick to the policy of a plebiscite.

The prime minister called the meeting to allow discussion after Smith made it clear he was preparing the bill to come before the parliament. The Liberal meeting will not start until 4pm and it follows the National party meeting on Friday, which supported the existing plebiscite policy.

After the Liberals meet, the Coalition will have to come together again for the joint party room meeting on Tuesday morning ahead of parliament where any outcomes could be further raked over.

Smiths bill has forced the Coalition party room to resolve whether to allow a conscience vote as John Howard had done in the past on the abortion drug RU486, stem cell research and euthanasia.

Labors manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, promised not to use marriage equality to spark a no-confidence motion in the Coalition government. The majority of Labor MPs support the change though it is understood a small group of four MPs are opposed. Four of the five crossbenchers also support change, with only Bob Katter opposed to marriage equality.

Smiths bill would redefine marriage as a union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life and include all lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people and relationships.

In a joint statement, Smith, Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and Trevor Evans said the marriage bill was the first to introduce protection for the views of ministers of religion and Australian defence force chaplains, while creating a new class of religious marriage celebrants.

Zimmerman said delivering marriage equality would strengthen family life.

We believe marriage to be a fundamental institution in Australian life and ensuring all couples have access to it will be beneficial to individuals, couples, families and the community, and will strengthen Australian family life, said Zimmerman.

Evans said it was time the political stalemate was broken and the bill was passed to allow the parliament to move on.

Entsch, the Coalitions longtime campaigner on the issue, said the issue was about real peoples lives.

LGBTI people are our brothers and sisters, friends and work colleagues. They just want the same dignity as everyone else in their families. Lets just do this, Entsch said.

On Sunday, Smith warned his conservative colleagues that a future Labor bill would not contain such religious protections.

The bill closely reflects the recommendations of the consensus Senate report, which unanimously rejected several proposed forms of discrimination against LGBTI people, including the ability for civil celebrants to reject their weddings.

The bill would confirm the requirements for a legally valid marriage otherwise remain the same under the Marriage Act, by introducing non-gendered language to ensure the requirements continue to apply equally to all marriages.

The bill would also enable same-sex marriages solemnised in another country to be recognised in Australia.

It would also create a new category to include for religious ministers from independent religious organisations as well as existing marriage celebrants wanting to perform marriages consistent with their religious beliefs.

Existing registered celebrants who are not ministers of religion would have 90 days to notify in writing that they wish to be identified as a religious marriage celebrant based on their beliefs. These formerly civil marriage celebrants would be required to advertise their services as a religious marriage celebrant.

If the bill is passed, there would also be a new category of officers to solemnise marriages of members of the Australian defence force overseas.

The bill would allow ministers of religion to refuse to solemnise a marriage in conformity with their religions doctrine.

Bodies established for religious purposes would be able to refuse to provide facilities, goods or services on the grounds of their religion.

The co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality, Alex Greenwich, said the bill represents the most robust and genuine approach to achieve marriage equality that the parliament had seen.

Its passage will fulfil the hopes of loving and same-sex couples to get married, and truly reflect Australias shared values of fairness and equality, Greenwich said.

Anna Brown, co-chair of the Equality Campaign, welcomed the bill and said it was in keeping with the roadmap set by the bipartisan Senate report agreed on earlier this year.

Weve been waiting for marriage equality for a long time and now our politicians have the opportunity to make it a reality with a bill that reflects the hard work and extensive consultation undertaken by a Senate committee earlier this year, said Brown.

Read the original here:

Marriage equality: five Liberal MPs back Dean Smith's bill ahead of bruising debate - The Guardian

You know what happens when you give control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Republicans? They begin fighting with each other. But its not a phenomenon unique to the GOP by any means. The same thing can happen to either party at the state level and thats whats currently going on with the Democrats in California. Having no suitable foe to fight from the other party, the furthest left wing of the state party is currently launching an effort to recall Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. His crime? Failing to push through a single payer state operated healthcare system which would have likely bankrupted the Golden State before the decade was up. (Associated Press)

Democrats control every lever of power in California state government, and free from worrying about major losses to Republicans, theyre training fire instead on each other.

The latest example is a recall effort against Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a strong progressive now targeted by party activists upset that he derailed a bill seeking government-funded health care for all.

The Rendon recall comes as the California Democratic Party contends with a protracted leadership battle that is as much about donors and messaging as it is about ideals. It follows a contentious battle among environmentalists over the states cap-and-trade law to fight climate change, which some thought was too deferential to oil companies.

One thing you can always say for the Democrats is that theyre dedicated to being subtle. Thats exemplified by this charming image showing up at protests around the state.

The California Nurses Association takes credit for the altered state flag showing the bear with a knife in its back, but they claim theyre not involved in the recall. (I assume that means that its a grassroots effort.) But that doesnt mean that the natives arent restless.

The single payer scheme (SB-562) managed to pass the state senate on a party line vote, but on June 23rd it was shelved in the Assembly by Rendon. Check out the unreasonable list of frivolous complaints he had about it at the time. (LA Times)

SB 562 was sent to the Assembly woefully incomplete, Rendon said in a statement. Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill, including the fact it does not address many serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump Administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation.

Rendon took pains to note that his action does not kill the bill entirely because it is the first year of a two-year session, it could be revived next year.

So Rendon was rude enough to point out that the plan provided no way to pay for the $400B price tag, had an incomplete structure for the actual delivery of healthcare, contained no measures to stop consumer costs from skyrocketing further and ignored the fact that the White House and Congress were unlikely to go along with the federal financial support it would require. What a jerk! Who goes around nitpicking over little things like that when there are liberal headlines to be made?

Perhaps the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in California can pull this off. Who knows? They might manage to recall Rendon and replace him with some sort of Sanders Warren style firebrand who will push single payer through, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. And then when California eventually goes bankrupt and asks the rest of the country to bail them out well see a different sort of revolution on the west coast. Either that or grant them their Calexit wishes and build a wall around the entire place.

The rest is here:

California Dems to recall their own Assembly Speaker for being insufficiently liberal - Hot Air