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Half Nelson
A small battle was won last week in the war against the Coalition as it used its Senate majority to unnecessarily defer the public sector super and death benefits reform Bill for same-sex couples to a parliamentary inquiry.
Originally the Bill was delayed indefinitely, with no date set for the Senate committee to report its findings on whether such rights could be extended to ‘interdependent’ couples. But with Queensland Liberal senator Sue Boyce, a supporter of queer equality, allegedly poised to cross the floor and vote against her own party should the Bill be further delayed without a reporting date, the Coalition hastily assured parliament the committee would be reporting back by 30 September, at the latest.
Boyce, like many others, was presumably intelligent enough to read between the lines here and realise that this delay was less to do with concern for the rights of interdependent couples, than with the Coalition far-right warriors working overtime, as always, to stall, delay and impede legal equality for same-sex couples.
And their puppet, Brendan Nelson, was singing from their hymn book with perfect pitch. The once-vocal supporter of queer equality is now claiming that same-sex couples should only expect to have as many rights as the proverbial ‘spinster sisters’, hence pandering to the far-right obsession with our sex lives. Incapable of accepting that same-sex relationships are closer to heterosexual married or de facto pairings than two elderly sisters living together because – shock – sex is (usually) an integral part of our cohabitation, some conservatives fallaciously argue that our relationships are more like interdependent ‘friendships’ and should be treated accordingly.
Never mind the fact that creating new categories of interdependency is fiscally irresponsible, costing up to several billion additional dollars to ensure all interdependent couples are covered. Or indeed, that people who could potentially be caught in this proposed net, such as pensioners, may in fact be worse off as they will be forced to claim the couple rather than independent rate.
Nelson now only has until the end of September to continue straddling his party’s moderate stock, from which he himself emerged, and the far-right to whom he effectively sold his soul when they delivered him party leadership over Malcolm Turnbull. Should the committee recommend extending the Bill’s provisions to interdependent couples, the Coalition will then be compelled to specify whether its senators will only support the Bill’s passage this way, or whether its recommendations are non-binding and/or whether senators will then be allowed a conscience vote on the Bill in its original form, from which Labor rightfully will not budge.
At this point, Nelson must end his embarassingly ingratiating attempts to be everybody’s best friend and show some actual leadership. His true colours will finally be on display for conservatives and progressives alike to see.
Sam Butler:
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