The response to the British referendum has been quite astounding. One wonders what democracy really means to those who saw their vote defeated. Are we to see the same here on Sunday when those who are disappointed call foul and demand another election? One can see the situation in Britain and the US mirrored here. This can be seen in the smugness of ABC presenters and others of that ilk who, when confronted, retaliate with condescension and name calling.
It seems those who approach life with a sense of fairness and have a reasonable grip on reality have had enough and are starting to rise up.
Damien Doyle, Dalgety, NSW
This is all that one needs to know about the election. The Coalition’s objective is to make a bigger pie. Labor’s objective is to secure a bigger slice of pie for its mates, even if the overall pie is smaller. The Greens’ objective is to abolish pie and replace it with tofu.
Geoff Mathews, Glenelg North, SA
Bill Shorten runs with the hares and hunts with the hounds. Fair dinkum, he’s giving union organisers a bad name.
Rod Searle, Madeley, WA
The hypocrisy of Bill Shorten’s backflip on having a plebiscite on same-sex marriage is spectacular. Shorten now claims that Labor policy of a parliamentary vote is the only way forward because the people are not capable of having a respectful debate about the subject. Shorten and Labor’s attitude is insulting. They have seriously underestimated the people of Australia.
Ailsa Lennox, Bulimba, Qld
What a shock to discover that the avuncular Robert Marr, who has been supporting Labor’s Medicare scare campaign, is actually a Labor supporter (“TV ad doctor has railed against Coalition for years”, 30/6). The other gobsmacking revelation is that Marr has a media adviser with ACTU links.
Tim Sauer, Brighton East, Vic
an Irishman, I have been there several times since the successful gay marriage referendum and everyone I meet are embarrassed and disgusted that holy Catholic Ireland was the first to bring it in. As for the 56 per cent yes vote of a low turnout (voting is not compulsory in Ireland) and the gay community, knowing this, turned out 100 per cent to make sure it went through. This is why the gay community in Australia wants a vote in parliament, not a plebiscite. Because of compulsory voting, the result could produce a no vote.
Brian Doherty, Beenleigh, Qld
The myth of the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage is that it was not an overwhelming result in favour of gay marriage.
Ireland does not have compulsory voting and only 60.5 per cent of eligible voters did so. Of these, 60.07 per cent voted yes and 37.9 per cent voted no. The nine Dublin electoral districts voted very much in favour of the referendum and would have carried it. The referendum was carried by one in three of the 5.323 million voters in Ireland, or 35 per cent of voters. There’s lies, damned lies and statistics.
I. P. Shanks, Mareeba, Qld
“I believe that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman,’’ said Hillary Clinton in 2004. “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman . . . it is also a scared union,” said Barack Obama in 2008. To Bill Shorten’s credit for consistency, I can’t find him supporting marriage between a man and a woman.
Stewart MacFarlane, Adelaide, SA