Labor senator Penny Wong has been awarded the 2019 McKinnon Prize for Political Leadership. The annual prize is an initiative of the Susan McKinnon Foundation and the University of Melbourne’s School of Government. In awarding the 50-year-old politician the prize the organisers said it was “for her leadership and advocacy in promoting a more tolerant and […]
The opposition have criticised the government’s decision to allow controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos a visa to enter Australia for a speaking tour. Labor’s Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government had only changed its stance after being pressured by right wing commentators. “I think we can decide who we want to come to Australia.” […]
Greens senator Janet Rice has told equality campaigners that she believes bill to change to anti-discrimination act so that students can not be expelled from schools over their sexuality or gender identity has a good chance of passing the senate when parliament resumes this week. “(It) looks like it’s potentially got the support of the […]
The federal government is considering banning Chelsea Manning from speaking in Australia, with new Immigration Minister David Coleman reviewing her visa. Manning is scheduled to speak at the Antidote Festival at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday night, following by speaking engagements in Brisbane and Melbourne. Manning, who was an intelligence analyst in the US […]
Lyle Shelton has joined Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives and will act as their National Communications Director before running for parliament at the next federal election. Yesterday Shelton announced he was quitting his role as Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, citing that the recent postal survey debate over marriage equality had made him want […]
Advocates for marriage equality have welcomed the passage of Senator Dean Smith’s marriage bill through the senate. Gathering outside parliament just after the vote was held, politicians from all sides of the chamber said they were overjoyed that after more than a decade of campaigning, and a long drawn out postal survey process, the parliament […]
The federal senate has spent the day arguing about Senator Dean Smith’s marriage bill. Working into the night the senators have addressed a large number of proposed amendments to the bill with each subsequent proposed changed knocked back. Five amendments put forward by Senator James Paterson and Senator David Fawcett have failed to gain support […]
Could Liberal Senator Dean Smith be the new President of the Senate when parliament returns? Yesterday Senator Stephen Parry resigned from the senate after it was confirmed that he held dual Australian and British Citizenship. The shock departure of another member of the government leaves the position of Senate President open. Parry follows the National’s […]
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. 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 […]
Labor leader Bill Shorten has told reporters that he’ll be actively campaigning for the YES side of the marriage equality debate. Following the High Court’s decision that will allow the government’s plan for a nationwide postal survey on marriage to proceed, Shorten said it was time to make sure the result of the process was […]
