Commenting on the High Court’s consideration of the national, non-compulsory survey of attitudes to same-sex marriage, David Marr reminds us – and it’s rare for us to quote male writers on this site – how difficult it is to change of the status quo in this country. Republicans take note and be warned. It isn’t going to be any easier a second time:
“Australia is being taught an old lesson all over again. The delay, the cost and the years of bitter debate are worth it according to the warriors of ‘no’ to remind Australians that change in this country is hard, hard work.This is nothing new but it’s marking us now. We’re a middle-of-the-road country with ambitions for change caught in a political culture that’s come to see its mission as preventing the future. Equal marriage is just the latest occasion for displaying the clout of the reactionaries. Though they know, in the end, they probably won’t be able to bring change to a halt, they want us to know the ground rules here: change in this country only comes with a great deal of pain.”
[“The judges’ verdict on equal marriage: change in Australia only comes with pain” by David Marr, The Guardian Australia online, 8 September 2017]
