John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With respect to the member for Melbourne, I did not require any authority flowing from his motion to consult with my electorate about same-sex marriages. Since I was elected to this House in 1998, I have consulted and received feedback on many diverse issues from my constituents, virtually every day. I report to the House today that the majority of my electorate who have provided feedback to me believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and they therefore do not want the Marriage Act altered. That feedback has come from a wide cross-section of the community that I represent in this place.

I acknowledge that in my electorate there is a significant minority who do not agree with this feedback. For the information of those who were not in this House in 2009, I supported and voted for 85 amendments to Commonwealth laws to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples. Finally, I acknowledge that a small minority of my electorate do not support civil unions. I do.