Politics in Queensland are like nowhere else. We are witness to this just now with former Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie announcing his support for equal marriage, and supporting civil partnerships. His action seems to have triggered the LNP for the first time allowing a conscience vote on the civil partnership laws.
The scale of this backflip is breathtaking. Back in 2012, Bleijie as Attorney-General got rid of civil partnerships, so that there were registered relationships instead. This all happened in about 48 hours, as it was considered "urgent" legislation. If that weren't enough, Bleijie then pushed to wind back the State's surrogacy laws, so that it would become a criminal offence if a gay, lesbian or single intended parent entered into a surrogacy arrangement; and he also sought to remove, alone of all the States, the recognition of non-biological mums in lesbian relationships as parents of their children. Thankfully his position then softened. Ultimately the Newman government deferred the surrogacy changes, never to be heard from again.
Bleijie was seen as the hard, uncaring face of government. His position was clear: children should not be conceived through surrogacy arrangements by gays, lesbians and singles- "because every child deserves a mother and a father."
Bleijie, who is also a marriage celebrant, sums it up when it comes to who can and can't get married:
“Marriage should be a statement of love and commitment between the happy couple; not an institution that rejects those who wish to enter it with the best intentions.’’
The scale of this backflip is breathtaking. Back in 2012, Bleijie as Attorney-General got rid of civil partnerships, so that there were registered relationships instead. This all happened in about 48 hours, as it was considered "urgent" legislation. If that weren't enough, Bleijie then pushed to wind back the State's surrogacy laws, so that it would become a criminal offence if a gay, lesbian or single intended parent entered into a surrogacy arrangement; and he also sought to remove, alone of all the States, the recognition of non-biological mums in lesbian relationships as parents of their children. Thankfully his position then softened. Ultimately the Newman government deferred the surrogacy changes, never to be heard from again.
Bleijie was seen as the hard, uncaring face of government. His position was clear: children should not be conceived through surrogacy arrangements by gays, lesbians and singles- "because every child deserves a mother and a father."
Bleijie, who is also a marriage celebrant, sums it up when it comes to who can and can't get married:
“Marriage should be a statement of love and commitment between the happy couple; not an institution that rejects those who wish to enter it with the best intentions.’’
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