One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is worried that the words ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ will be outlawed if same-sex marriage becomes a reality in Australia.

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Speaking about the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Bill 2017 in the senate yesterday, Senator Hanson said down the track it could become difficult for Australia’s school teachers if children who had same-sex parents became offend by the teachers making casual comments about parents.

“What may come of this is: kids might go to school and they say, ‘I want you to draw a picture of Mum and Dad?’ or ‘What have Mum and Dad done?’ or ‘Have you had time with Grandma and Grandad?’

“Is someone going to say, ‘Sorry. You can no longer call that parent Mum or Dad because it is going to offend the children who don’t have a Mum and Dad’? Is it going to be: you must call that person by name—Peter, Anne or John? It is no longer Mum and Dad; it’s no longer Gran or Granddad. This is the impact it’s having in other places, or so I have been told.”

Senator Hanson didn’t elaborate which of the 25+ countries that have brought in marriage equality had banned the use of the words ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’.

Senator Hanson said she considered the Turnbull government’s marriage survey to be a farcical exercise and she would have preferred that the government had focused on reforming the family law courts and addressing the issues of divorce and suicide in that area, before it had addressed the issue of marriage equality.

Senator Hanson said the example of a same-sex couple who did support marriage equality, recently shown on the ABC program 7:30, was proof that even within the LGBTI community many people did not care about the issue of marriage equality.

“I know a lot of gay couples who are not interested.” Senator Hanson said.  “Here we have a few people pushing their own agenda and pushing feeling sorry for them, but it’s just not reflective of Australians, who are fed up with this. They are so over hearing about it.

I’m constantly speaking to them, and they just want to move on, because there are more important issues in this country—the deficit, suicides, farmers being forced off their land, banking issues; and the family law courts—and we should not be taking up time in this parliament discussing this issue.”

Senator Hanson said her party would not be supporting the bill to provide protections against threatening behavior, vilification or abuse because she believed it was designed to shut down free speech.

Senator Malcolm Roberts from One Nation commented on the speeches made by senator’s directly affected by the marriage debate and said they were only feeling hurt by the debate because they made a choice to be offended by people’s comments.

“I hear Senators Wong, Rice and others, and I empathise with them.” Senator Roberts said. “I hear their pain from accepting what some may say to them, but there is a choice: we don’t have to accept what others say to us, about us or against us. That people choose to take it personally is their choice.”

The laws were successfully passed in both houses.

OIP Staff