LOCAL MP Andrew Broad has conceded that same-sex marriage is an important issue within the Mallee electorate, after one of his Facebook posts generated intense debate from locals.
On Friday afternoon Mr Broad posted from his official Facebook page outlining his opposition to same-sex marriage, as momentum builds in Canberra to amend the marriage act to be between two people.
Mr Broad referred to letters sent by his constituents that seemed to show a fifty-fifty split on the matter.
“I have personally read all correspondence, and tonight decided to correlate these views. 62 people — 31 for changes to the marriage act, 31 against,” he wrote.
What followed took even Mr Broad by surprise: debate so heated — including criticism that the MP’s views did not accurately represent his electorate — that he was forced to delete the post altogether due to breaches of the Facebook code of conduct.
Although Mr Broad’s position remains consistent — in that he doesn’t believe marriage should be between two members of the same sex — he appears to be softening his approach, admitting that his previous comments dismissing the debate were preemptive.
“I think I probably downplayed it more than I should have,” he said.
“I think it is an important issue to a lot of people, on both sides.”
Further explaining his views, Mr Broad said they were influenced by a range of factors.
“For me it essentially comes down to, I think, there is value in many belief systems for many cultures for many thousands of years for a unifying word that unites a family unit that can bring up children…. I think it’s worked for a very long time and I don’t think there’s any need to change that.”
In an effort to better understand the views of Mallee constituents, Mr Broad said his office was in discussion about the matter and that a survey of Mallee residents could be a way to proceed.
“If I have to vote with my conscience then essentially it comes down to my call on the views and values that I believe in. But is that representative of the electorate? How do you tell? The only way of really telling would be a referendum.”
Mr Broad says he is considering all his options in the event of a free vote.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten recently introduced a bill to parliament proposing that the Marriage Act be amended to allow for “two people” to be wed, not “a man and a woman”.
Mr Broad labelled Mr Shorten’s bill an act of opportunism and said the Labor leader was hijacking the marriage equality debate to “change the topic” away from the recent Federal budget
The bill was adjourned until parliament’s spring sitting.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (June 10).
