Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

This Monday, the Liberal party room came to a decision that broke the hearts of hundreds and thousands of LGBTI Australians. Those in the coalition have decided to denigrate the LGBTIQ community by attempting to pass the plebiscite through this place yet again, and I thank my Labor colleagues and those on the crossbenches for again voting this ridiculous plebiscite plan down. Yet, in another slap to the face of our community and, indeed, all Australians, this government has decided that it's appropriate to spend some $122 million on a divisive, hateful and, frankly, illegitimate postal survey. This illegitimate postal survey is simply a result of the compromising position that this weak Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull, finds himself in. What we have here is a situation where the government has needed to satisfy the extreme right wing of the coalition in a search for stability. Prime Minister Turnbull has decided to spend this ridiculous amount of taxpayer money on an illegitimate postal survey that members of his own government have not even gone to the extent of honouring the outcome of, in terms of how they will then vote in this place.

As my question highlighted, there are a great many things that $122 million of taxpayer money could be better spent on, and I'm particularly moved by the Facebook post of one Jackie Hodson, who has cystic fibrosis. When the previous version of the plebiscite was being considered, she posted the following on her Facebook page: 'It's going to cost roughly $160 million for the government to run the plebiscite to confirm what we already know—that the Australian society supports same-sex marriage. Here I am, 25 years old and fighting to breathe. I have battled cystic fibrosis since infancy, and now I'm facing a big, fat fight to stay alive on revolutionary medicine that is saving my life.' She says she's been lucky to be on the medicine Orkambi through a compassionate scheme. However, there are thousands of other children and young adults who need this drug now, and some will die while they wait. She goes on to say: 'I can't understand how we can justify letting innocent people die unnecessarily. How can we justify breaking the hearts of all our mums and dads, brothers, sisters, partners? How can the comparable cost of this plebiscite, a vote, be justified while denying me a lifeline—my only chance to marry the love of my life, have a family of my own and grow old? Both injustices need to end, and they need to end now. Love is love, and please let me breathe easy.' And she has asked people to share her Facebook post.

So there are a great many other priorities that this government could spend that money on. I would love to see that $122 million given to the PBS so that they can weigh up the decision of funding medicines like Orkambi or other important life-saving drugs. It is a ridiculous waste of priorities on the part of this nation to save the Prime Minister's skin, to gloss over their internal division—to spend this money on a wasteful postal plebiscite. That $122 million could go to a great many other worthwhile causes in our nation.

As Senator Brandis highlighted in his answer to my question, why has Mr Bill Shorten put up a plebiscite on the republican question? The simple fact is: to change that problem requires a change in our constitution, whereas marriage equality can be determined by this place and the other place by a simple vote. And you will not even bind your members to uphold its findings. (Time expired)

Senator Brandis interjecting—