It's hard to have a conscience vote without a conscience

As the ALP National Conference approaches, a welter of policies are set to be debated. Three of the big ones are likely to be uranium trading with India, onshore refugee processing, and of course same-sex marriage.


As activist and lobby groups around the country prepare for an onslaught on the National Conference, as poll after poll is released showing support for the issue of same-sex marriage, Julia Gillard has continually pressed for a conscience vote. It may surprise people outside of Australia, but Australian politicians do not vote according to personal views - they vote according to party line. In fact, the ALP vote along party line more often than not, only rarely allowing a conscience vote, while their opposition in the Coalition openly claim to allow every vote as a conscience vote, but in reality, voting against the party earns you a good few enemies, and can stall your career, until a shift in factional politics occurs.

In short, one party champions the conscience vote, but doesn't really allow it. The other never allows it except when they know it's going to fail. Which brings us neatly to the ALP conscience vote on the subject. PM Julia Gillard has outlined her views on the subject here. Bear in mind our PM is an unmarried, 'living in sin' atheist, so where does this recalcitrance come from? Is it having her leash handlers in the ALP Right like Joe De Bruyn in her ear here and here that have caused her to hold such an irrationally unmoveable opinion?

Understand this. The Coalition are going to vote no as a bloc on any same-sex marriage bill. Partly this is because they are innate bigots, partly this is because they are actively chasing the bigot vote, and partly this is because they will oppose anything and everything out of hand put forward by Labor, or more especially The Greens. The ALP contains a good number of right-wing factional warlords. Whether it's Joe De Bruyn, David Feeney or Bill Shorten (who showed his colours by writing support to this piece of ignorant dreck), all of them are staunch opponents of treating human beings like other human beings. So if the Coalition vote 'no', the ALP are split, The Greens vote 'yes' and the Independents are split, then any such proposed bill is seriously fucked.

This is nothing short of sabotage by using the outward appearance of democracy. When was the last time the ALP allowed a conscience vote on anything? Still, the stupidest thing is that no-one is fooled. The real, self-defeating point of allowing the conscience vote is noted here and here.

The issue enjoys a support that either of the main parties should envy, yet they do nothing. The Coalition's stance, while loathesome is at least understandable. They have successfully positioned themselves as the anti-compassion, anti-science, anti-justice, anti-democracy party. The ALP's position is just one of shameless cowardice.