Marriage Equality Tribute
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of Queensland for so resoundingly demonstrating their support for marriage equality and for removing discrimination from our Marriage Act—discrimination that was put in place by this parliament in 2004. Queensland came in at just over 60 per cent. Nearly 61 per cent of the people of Queensland who filled in the unnecessary postal survey expressed their support for marriage equality. I was particularly pleased to see that this was a higher figure than for the state of New South Wales, which came in at under 58 per cent. I think we can add that one as even better than winning the State of Origin, frankly. It's also another example, as I mentioned in this place yesterday, of just how false this portrayal is of Queensland as somehow innately conservative and reactionary.
As I said yesterday, Queensland has a strong history of pushing the envelope on radical action, pushing progressive change and fighting back against the reactionary and conservative forces that undoubtedly are present not just in Queensland but elsewhere. So let this be just another example to put the lie to the nonsense that somehow Queensland is innately a conservative state. That's not just in the south-east. I am very pleased that the electorate I live in—the seat of Brisbane—achieved the fifth highest result across the country, with nearly 80 per cent of people said yes to marriage equality and yes to removing discrimination. The seat of Griffith across the river was also one of the top 10 in the country to say yes. It is not just in those seats but also in so-called conservative areas that people voted yes.
Indeed, Mr Christensen, the member for the seat of Dawson, which is based around Mackay and goes all the way up those rural and regional areas to the southern parts of Townsville, is a strident opponent of not just marriage equality but treating people decently in all sorts of ways. In his electorate, the yes vote was 55 per cent—a clear 10 per cent win and a bigger margin than Mr Christensen himself has in that seat, I think I am correct in saying. So it was a resounding yes voice also coming from regional Queensland and rural Queensland. It is a very important point to make when we consider this question and the legislation before this chamber in the following sitting week.
I would like to pay tribute to the people across the country, particularly in Queensland but in other areas that are seen as conservative, such as Toowoomba, which I know Senator Moore knows particularly well. I went to some marriage equality events in that city and the local pastors there, a couple, spoke very passionately and positively about marriage equality. It is a great example of people from all walks of life and from all parts of the political spectrum simply arguing their case with a genuine sense of heart and belief—with the spirit that Senator Dodson just referred to in his speech. You can shift people's views by simply opening your heart and explaining your beliefs in convincing other people on how to change.I would also like to thank those within the Greens, the Rainbow Greens, who have been the spearhead within Queensland in pushing and promoting the need not just to say we support marriage equality but to put it at the top of the agenda, and for continually pushing and pushing to get that change to happen. The leaders of our network in Queensland and the Rainbow Greens are also candidates in the state election: Steve Purcell in Jordan and Bridget Clinch in Everton, which I think was Senator Watt's old seat. We've got an even better representative coming, Senator Watt. You will be pleased about that.