Tag Archives: Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Former prime minister Tony Abbott has backed a call from same-sex marriage opponents to ban American rapper Macklemore from performing his pro-gay song Same Love at the NRL grand final. Former player Tony Wall, who played first grade briefly in the mid 1990s, is petitioning NRL boss Todd Greenberg to halt the half-time performance and …

The Guardian reports: Two weeks after she put herself at odds with her father, the country’s former prime minister, with a post on Instagram, Frances Abbott has appeared in an advert calling on Australians to back marriage equality in the country’s non-binding, voluntary survey. “You can’t help who you fall in love with. Love just happens sometimes and it’s unexpected …

The Australian reports: Two women have locked lips on stage during an anti-same sex marriage event in Melbourne, disrupting a “no” campaigner’s speech. The protesters kept kissing as they were dragged from the stage by security at the Coalition for Marriage’s Victorian campaign launch on Saturday night. Australian Christian Lobby chief Lyle Shelton shared a video of the incident on …

The Guardian reports: The man charged with assaulting Tony Abbott has denied the alleged attack had anything to do with the same-sex marriage postal vote. Hobart DJ Astro “Funknukl” Labe, 38, was charged with one count of common assault on Friday over an alleged attack on the Hobart waterfront on Thursday afternoon. Labe was wearing a rainbow “yes” badge when …

ABC News Australia reports: The staff of a Launceston pizza shop have altered the meaning of an anti-same-sex-marriage billboard next to their business, a day after a Hobart hotel distanced itself from a billboard atop its premises. Employees at Wiseguise Pizza, in the suburb of Mowbray, started painting the brick wall adjacent to the “It’s OK to say no” sign, …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Former prime minister Tony Abbott says he was a victim of “politically motivated violence” after he was assaulted by a same-sex marriage campaigner in Hobart. Mr. Abbott said he was headbutted by a same-sex marriage campaigner in a Hobart street on Thursday who told him: ‘You deserve it because of all the things you’ve said.’ …

The West Australian reports: Tennis legend Margaret Court has returned serve to a Perth tennis club that turfed her out as a patron this week, saying she is being silenced for her views on same-sex marriage. Despite being dumped by Cottesloe Tennis Club, Mrs Court remained defiant yesterday, accusing the LGBTQI community of wanting to “destroy marriage”. “Ian Thorpe can …

Gay Star News reports: Skywriting appeared over Sydney today to encourage Australians to ‘Vote No’ to marriage equality. Australians are currently voting in a expensive and divisive postal vote on same-sex marriage. They have until 27 October to post their votes back, with results announced 15 November. But the ‘No’ campaign ramped up their attempts to sway people against same-sex …

The Guardian reports: A robocall asking Australians their opinion about the same-sex marriage postal survey has suggested that marriage equality may lead to “radical gay sex education” and threats to freedom of speech and religion. The poll, which was first reported by social media users on Tuesday night, stated that it was conducted by the Republican-linked American pollster WPA Intelligence. …

Reuters reports: The alarming volume of hate-speech during Australia’s ballot over whether to legalize same-sex marriage spurred parliament to pass emergency legislation on Wednesday to outlaw opponents spewing their vitriol while the vote was in progress. Australia began a non-compulsory postal vote on Tuesday that will determine whether it becomes the 25th country to legalize same-sex marriage. But with an …

The BBC reports: Australian political leaders, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, have come out in support of a campaign for same-sex marriage. More than 20,000 people gathered in Sydney to campaign ahead of a non-binding postal vote on changing Australia’s marriage act. Mr Turnbull made a surprise appearance and speech at the launch of the New South Wales Yes campaign. …

ABC News reports: The High Court has ruled 7-0 to dismiss challenges to the Federal Government’s $122 million same-sex marriage postal survey, clearing the way for it to go ahead. The Federal Government welcomed the unanimous High Court ruling, announcing the survey would continue as planned and the final result would be declared by the chief statistician at 11:30am on …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: A Melbourne principal has disputed a mother’s claim – aired in an anti same-sex marriage TV ad – that her son was told he could wear a dress to school. Cella White, who has previously appeared in videos attacking the Safe Schools program and whose claims have been heavily promoted by the Australian Christian Lobby, …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: The first television advertisement for a ‘say no to same sex marriage’ campaign has aired on Australian television tonight. The advertisement from the Coalition for Marriage — the key organisation behind the ‘No’ campaign — features Australian mothers who speak out as part of a series aimed at highlighting what they claim are issues that …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: A last-minute surge has seen a record number of Australians enrolled to vote ahead of the upcoming postal survey on same-sex marriage. The Australian Electoral Commission on Friday released figures it described as “extraordinary” that show 90,000 new voters – mostly the young – had joined the roll since the survey was announced on August …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: A man who was decked by a coward punch while on a night out in Sydney, and said he feared for his life, was rescued by a trio of unlikely saviours. Ivan Flinn, 34, from Surry Hills, said that during the attack earlier this month he hoped someone would come to his rescue. Help did …

The Guardian reports: Materials labeling homosexuality a “curse of death” and claiming 92% of children of gay parents suffer abuse have surfaced in two separate incidents of homophobic campaigns against same-sex marriage. Advocates have condemned the material, which included a poster urging Australians to “stop the fags” in Melbourne and a leaflet printed in English and Mandarin found in Hurstville, …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: Ian Thorpe and his partner Ryan Channing have released a new video urging Australians to vote in next month’s postal plebiscite on whether to legalise gay marriage. The Olympic swimming champ is making a last-ditch effort to get Australians to update their electoral roll details before the list is finalised this Thursday ahead of the …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Lobbyists on both sides of the marriage equality debate will be free to distribute misleading and deceptive material ahead of the same-sex marriage postal vote, because the usual campaign rules have been discarded. In order to circumvent the Senate, the Turnbull government’s optional marriage survey will be conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, meaning …

UPI reports: Australian citizens will be asked where they stand on potential legalization of same-sex marriage in a non-binding mail-in vote, after lawmakers failed to pass legislation Wednesday to make it a national plebiscite vote issue in November. Canberra’s governing Liberal-National Coalition failed to pass a bill in Parliament that would have secured funding to restore Australia’s compulsory plebiscite on …