Economy
Australian Sex Party puts family first …
Family First senate candidate, Peter Madden, launched his campaign Friday just gone. I always understood Family First to be a group of homophobic, misogynistic, right-to-lifers. But the equation on Peter’s billboard reads …
Homosexual marriage = gay sex-ed for children
Now, my maths is a bit rusty, but I don’t think one equates with the other. I do, however, endorse the sentiment. Yes, we should have marriage equality and, when we do, yes, we should offer our children comprehensive sex and relationships education that covers the diversity of sex, sexuality and gender.
So far, I’m totally with you, Peter.
Buoyed by this discovery and thinking that maybe I’d misunderstood F-First’s intentions, I visited their website. The party’s three pillars are: Strong families; strong values; and strong Australia.
Great! I can work with that. Tell me more.
It turns out the Australian Sex Party the Family have many shared values. ‘Values like telling the truth, living within your means, hard work, respect, courtesy, compassion, courage, generosity.’
The Australian Sex Party values the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it is. The reality of climate change. The deaths of women at the hands of their partners. The institutionalised abuse of our friends and family.
We encourage people to live within their means. That’s just good advice. But we must ensure that all Australians have the means to live.
Nothing good comes without hard work. Work hard, whether it is in the home, in the factory, at school or in your relationships with one another.
Every person deserves to be respected. This doesn’t mean that we have to respect their ideas, beliefs and actions. As Rowan Atkinson says, ‘The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas – even if they are sincerely held beliefs – is one of the fundamental freedoms of society.’
Courtesy, compassion, courage. Let’s have the courage to extend the courtesy of compassion to those who have risked their lives seeking asylum in our country.
Generosity . . . of spirit; to acknowledge that even if you disagree fundamentally, your political opponent is earnest in their beliefs and genuine in their desire to serve the nation.
But let’s talk about women. Unlike the Australian Sex Party which was founded and is led by a remarkable woman in Fiona Patten MLC, I don’t think Family First likes the ladies.
Here’s why.
The 155-word ‘Women’ section of the ‘Put Family First’ policy page mentions women . . . once. And there’s not a feminine pronoun to be seen. So, I looked a little further to the ‘Marriage is special’ policy. Apart from sounding like a My Little Pony episode, this section mentions women 9 times – but only ever in relation to their marital status.
I don’t think women exist independent of their relationship to men in a Family First world.
(For those who are interested, the ‘Marriage is Special’ policy also offers an ‘About women’ section. Oh yes, you just know you’re in for a little Famsplaining, now.)
Surprisingly, ‘Marriage is Special’ offers another hint that Family First is, in fact, pro marriage equality. It states that married men and women earn more, live longer, commit less crime and have better relationships with their kids compared to their unmarried counterparts. What’s not to like? Let’s open up this most of beneficial of institutions to all Australians. The federal government could do this with the stroke of a pen (no plebiscite necessary).
‘Australian families deserve better. Australia deserves better.’ I couldn’t agree more, which is why I’m the Australia Sex Party Senate candidate for Tasmania. I’ll work with Family First toward our shared goals. I’ll work with all my elected colleagues toward the best outcomes for all Australians.
Authorised by D. Leitch, 303 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 3056
Added by Editor …
