Tony Abbott put forward the idea of a plebiscite for marriage equality
On August 11th 2015, division within the Coalition over the issue of marriage equality came to a head.
The Abbott government’s policy was that marriage would strictly only be between a man and a woman, but as country after country around the globe changed their laws, and opinion polls showed the mood for change in Australia was rapidly rising, many Liberal MPs were also beginning to call for change.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was staunchly opposed to changing the laws faced a dilemma, one that threatened his leadership. After a marathon six hour meeting the Prime Minister announced a new plan.
Coalition MPs would be tied to the party position for the remainder of the current term, but after the next federal election would be allowed to vote with their conscience, but rather than a vote on legislation in the parliament Abbott proposed a national plebiscite on the issue, sending voters to the ballot boxes to decide the issue.
“If you support the existing definition of marriage between a man and a woman, the coalition is absolutely on your side, but if you’d like to see change at someplace, at sometime in the future, the coalition is prepared to make that potentially possible, but the disposition is that it should happen through a people’s vote than simply through a parliament vote,” Abbott told reporters at the end of the marathon meeting.
The PM was criticised for delaying the issue, and many people observed that the proposed methodology was not common in Australian politics, and possibly chosen because it was unlikely to succeed.
Abbott only lasted as Prime Minister for another month, he was overthrown by rival Malcolm Turnbull. The plebiscite policy however remained. The drawn out process saw the government unable to pass the relevant legislation to allow for a plebiscite and eventually in 2017, a postal survey was held by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The result showed an overwhelming majority of Australia’s supported marriage equality and in November 2017, the laws were changed and same-sex couples were able to wed.
In 2019, the former Prime Minister attempted to take credit for ‘making marriage equality happen’, arguing that until he put forward the idea of a plebiscite the issue had been a political millstone for almost a decade. Given his long standing opposition to allowing same sex marriage, his attempt to take credit for the result was thoroughly mocked.
Children’s author Enid Blyton was born on this day in 1897
Enid Blyton was a prolific author who created many memorable works including the Noddy, the Famous Five, Adventure series, and Secret Seven novels, as well as The Magic Faraway Tree and many others works. During her life Blyton published over 750 books, as well as short stories and seasonal collections.
Her works have been childhood favourites for generations, but have also been criticised for being simplistic, repeating plots and making reading too simple for young audiences. Many of her works have not stood the test of time and have been labeled racist, xenophobic, and filled with prejudices.
Blyton was married twice, and there have been some suggestions that she was bisexual. Her first marriage in 1924 was to Major Hugh Pollock, who was an editor at the publishing firm George Newnes which became Blyton’s regular publisher. They had two children.
By the mid-1930’s her husband had become an alcoholic and he retreated from public life. With the outbreak of World War II he became involved with the Home Guard. During this time he began a romantic relationship with Ida Crowe, a young writer 19 years his junior, she became his secretary. In her memoir Crowe would later claim the Blyton has many affairs during her marriage to Pollock, including several lesbian relationships.
In 1941 Blyton began a relationship with a surgeon Kenneth Waters, her husband was incensed and threatened her with divorce, but they eventually agreed that she would sue him for divorce, so as not to damage her career. In 1943 Pollock and Crowe were wed, as were Blyton and Waters.
Blyton passed away at the age of 71 in 1968, she had been experiencing dementia since around 1960. Her work remains popular despite the criticism. A new television series of The Famous Five was produced in 2023 and a film version of The Magic Faraway Tree is in the works.
Blyton’s character George in The Famous Five is arguably one of the most famous tomboys in popular culture, and has often been a literary hero for gender non-conforming people.
Musician Joe Jackson was born in 1954
Joe Jackson had some massive hits in the new wave era of music including Steppin’ Out, Real Men, and Is She Really Going Out With Him. Over his career he’s released 21 albums, and also composed classical music too.
In his autobiography A Cure for Gravity he discussed his bisexuality. His 1982 hit Real Men has been seen as a discussion on masculinity and bisexuality.
Actor Anne Heche died on this day in 2022
Actor Anne Heche died in 2022, six days after being involved in a car accident.
Heche came to global attention in the 1990’s when she began dating comedian and actor Ellen Degeneres, not long after Degeneres came out on the cover of TIME magazine.
In the memoir Call Me Anne, submitted shortly before her death, she wrote that she never identified as a lesbian and did not regard the terms “gay” or “straight” as relevant to her.
She appeared in many blockbuster films including Donnie Brasco, Volcano, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Six Days, and Seven Nights.
Heche later spoke publicly about how she struggled to get roles in mainstream Hollywood movies after she shared she was in a same-sex relationship.
Her relationship with Ellen Degeneres lasted from 1997 until 2000 when the couple split. She was married to cameraman Coleman Laffoon from 2002 until 2007, the couple share a son. She later had a second child with actor James Tupper.
Heche shared her personal mental health challenges in her autobiography Call Me Crazy where she detailed several family tragedies including her father’s AIDS related death, and the deaths of three of her four siblings.
OIP Staff, This post was first published in 2020 and subsequently been updated.
