Subjects: The same-sex marriage referendum result
DAVID SPEERS:
Well, Darren Chester was the only National to actually openly support a yes vote in the same sex marriage campaign. The Minister for Transport and Infrastructure joins me now.
Thanks for your time. What did you make of the result itself today?
DARREN CHESTER:
David, look, great to be here on what I think is quite an historic day for our nation. I was relieved to some extent that the vote was so compelling. I was relieved that my own electorate of Gippsland voted in the order of 60 per cent in favour, and I was excited to see that across regional Australia, probably 42 out of 45 seats that would be classically called regional, 42 out of 45 regional seats voted yes. And I think that is a great result and I think it really does send a clear message to us as Members of Parliament that we now need to get on with the job, do what the Australian people have asked us to do and that is to reform the Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to get married.
DAVID SPEERS:
That regional vote is quite interesting. Did it surprise you and what does it tell you about regional Australia?
DARREN CHESTER:
Well, I am not particularly surprised because I sort of picked up the winds of change about five years ago in my electorate and in other parts of regional Australia. I thought the debate had changed quite significantly about five years ago. So I was expecting regional Australia to vote yes. I didn’t think it would be quite so high and I thought there might be other seats that would vote no. But, look, I think what it tells you is that regional Australians are often misunderstood by people who commentate on us from the city. They think we are a bit of a backwaters. Well, we are not. We are quite cosmopolitan areas; we have a lot of changes going on in our regional communities. We have got strong growth in our business sectors. We have got a lot of people moving to our communities who love the lifestyle we can offer. So I think it might cause some people a bit of pause for thought to think about, well, what do I really understand about my regional Australian cousins, because we are not perhaps as un-progressive as they think we are. Now, we are very tolerant, we are very fair-minded, we want to give people a fair go and I think that is reflected in the vote.
DAVID SPEERS:
Well in terms of the National Party specifically, I think it was 14 of the 15 Lower House seats voted yes for same-sex marriage. Would you expect all of your colleagues will now actually vote yes on the floor of the House?
DARREN CHESTER:
Well it was actually 15 out of 16 National Party seats, because I still count Barnaby Joyce as a Member of Parliament even though he is going through the by-election. Actually I spoke to Barnaby about an hour ago and, mate, he’s having such a good time on this campaign out there. He is going from town to town, he is loving it. I am not sure we will get him back into Canberra the way he is going.
DAVID SPEERS:
He might not want to come back to Parliament.
DARREN CHESTER:
Mate, the smile is in his voice. Every time I see him he is out somewhere catching up with people; he is having a great time.
DARREN CHESTER:
He might not actually get to vote though on this, if- we don’t know exactly what- even if he wins, when he would be able to resume his seat in Parliament. So he might not actually get to vote on this.
DARREN CHESTER:
Well I think you are right. I think it is quite fluid about if Barnaby wins it – and I think he will – when that actually comes into effect and whether Parliament will still be sitting at that time. Now, you asked me about whether Members should vote according to their electorates. I mean I think you would be a bit of a mug not to pay attention to this overwhelming vote around Australia. In the order of 62 per cent of Australians have said yes, and I think if you are going to seriously respect the view of the Australian people, you would vote accordingly. Now, that is pretty easy for me to say because I supported the case and my electorate voted yes, so I guess it is pretty easy for me to say that, but I am not going to tell my colleagues what they should do. They will have to assess their own situation, but I think the Australian people would regard us quite dimly if we started playing around with this issue now.
DAVID SPEERS:
The Attorney-General, when the bill was introduced this afternoon in the Senate, flagged a couple of amendments. One was to extend the exemptions beyond just the clergy to civil celebrants who may not want to conduct a same sex marriage ceremony. Would you have any issue with that? Should that protection be extended to civil celebrants to say no?
DARREN CHESTER:
Look, I want to see all the amendments that come forward and carefully consider them, but basically, I believe, David, some reasonable protections for people for, some religious freedoms for people, who have got a strong religious view; I think that is reasonable. I don’t think there is any point in re-opening cases around businesses having a right to say no. I think that would be a huge backward step and I would hope nobody really seriously wants to progress down that pathway. But some reasonable protections for people who perform the ceremony I think is fine.
I mean, seriously though, if I was a same sex-attracted man and I wanted to get married, the last thing I would want to do is be married by someone who didn’t believe in my relationship. So in the practical reality of how this would work, people will seek out those members of the clergy or civil celebrants who support their lifestyle and their point of view and their relationship. I think we are going to see a minor economic boom too, by the way, David. I think we are going to start seeing a lot of marriages, a lot of receptions; hopefully they come and visit Gippsland and stay in my beautiful part of the region and spend some money while they’re down there. I think it is going to be great for our country.
DAVID SPEERS:
Well, there you go. Why not make a pitch for the same-sex marriage industry right there in the heart of Gippsland? Final one; I just want to ask you personally; I mean, as I mentioned at the outset, you have stuck your neck out in many ways as a Nat, supporting the yes case. Was that difficult through the process and, given the results in regional Australia in particular, is there any sense of vindication?
DARREN CHESTER:
Look, I don’t want to use words like vindication, David. I feel very satisfied with the decision I made. I copped a bit of criticism at the time. I am big enough and ugly enough to handle that. I think people who were more directly involved in the campaign for many years have copped a lot worse than I did. Look, I carefully assessed my own personal thoughts, what I thought was the view of my electorate and how I thought the debate was moving and people were changing and I wanted to be part of the future. I wanted to be someone who could look back on their political record and say: I am proud I did that.
DAVID SPEERS:
Darren Chester, Nationals Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, appreciate your time this afternoon. Thank you.
DARREN CHESTER:
All the best, David, have a great day.
[ENDS]