Australian Senator Forced To Resign Over His Comments On Gay Marriage In Parliament.
17 replies, posted
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Tony Abbott had no choice but to jettison Cory Bernardi, say Ben Packham and Sid Maher.
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LIBERAL senator Cory Bernardi has been forced to resign as shadow parliamentary secretary to Tony Abbott following his remarks linking gay marriage to bestiality.
The Opposition Leader said Senator Bernardi had made “one mistake too many”.
In his place, Mr Abbott appointed Senator Arthur Sinodinos as his parliamentary secretary. He also appointed South Australian MP Jamie Briggs as shadow parliamentary secretary to families spokesman Kevin Andrews.
Mr Abbott said Senator Bernardi had made “ill-disciplined remarks” to the Senate, and had compounded the offence by repeating them on morning radio.
He said they'd had a “forthright” discussion during which Senator Bernardi had offered his resignation.
“I swiftly concluded that was one mistake too many,” Mr Abbott said.
“I've known Cory for a long time. He's a decent bloke with strong opinions. But discipline is critical. Team play is vital. And that's what Cory has had some problems with. And that's why I thought it was very important to act quickly and decisively as I have.”
Mr Abbott said the Coalition did not support gay marriage but he would not tolerate remarks which were offensive to people in same-sex relationships.
During a debate last night over proposed gay marriage laws, Senator Bernardi said legalising same-sex unions would prompt calls for more extreme changes.
“The next step ... is having three people that love each other be able to enter into a permanent union endorsed by society, or four people,” Senator Bernardi said.
“There are even some creepy people out there, who say that it's OK to have consensual sexual relations between humans and animals. Will that be a future step?”
In a statement following his resignation, Senator Bernardi said: “I have taken this decision in the interests of the Coalition.”
The statement contained no apology or clarification of his comments.
A shadow cabinet member earlier said Senator Bernardi's remarks were in defiance of strict orders not to inflame the same-sex marriage debate.
“All senators were asked by George Brandis, who has responsibility for the bill, to keep the tone of their contributions moderate and dignified,” a shadow cabinet member told The Australian.
“Bernardi's speech was an open defiance of the leadership's wishes to take the heat out of this debate.”
The Opposition Leader had been under intense pressure to demote the South Australian after earlier this year distancing himself from Senator Bernardi's anti-Muslim views.
Senator Bernardi boarded a flight to London this morning to attend the European Young Conservative Freedom Summit.
Coalition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull today disassociated himself from his colleague's “hysterical” and “offensive” remarks, while Labor called for Senator Bernardi to be sacked from his frontbench post.
“He's made some very offensive remarks and I think Mr Abbott should show some leadership here,” Wayne Swan said earlier this morning.
In April, Mr Abbott scolded Senator Bernardi for making anti-Muslim comments and said if he made controversial public comments again he would consider replacing him as his parliamentary secretary. “If he does it again, watch this space. But I don't expect he will,” Mr Abbott said at the time.
-With Lanai Vasek
Source:
[URL]http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/cory-bernardi-quits-over-bestiality-comments/story-fn59niix-1226477232022[/URL]
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Wow, even our conservatives are sensible at times..
Just to clarify he resigned from the position of Parliamentary Secretary, but he is still a Senator.
Wow they're such champions of human rights, sacking homophobic secretaries like that. And yet today parliament still voted overwhelmingly against legalising gay marriage. Flip flop, motherfuckers.
[QUOTE=Mlisen14;37721346]Wow they're such champions of human rights, sacking homophobic secretaries like that. And yet today parliament still voted overwhelmingly against legalising gay marriage. Flip flop, motherfuckers.[/QUOTE]
Saying bad things about gay people is bad for your image. But they can't get married, no sir.
The Liberal party that's actually conservative... Crazy stuff
His facial coloration is... off.
Did anyone see the pun in that sign?
Today has been an amazing day for gay rights in Australia
[QUOTE=DrBreen;37721632]Did anyone see the pun in that sign?[/QUOTE]
No left turns?
i don't get it
[QUOTE=lavacano;37722062]No left turns?
i don't get it[/QUOTE]
the arrow is not straight
it is banned
The republicans should take notes here.
Can we change the title? "Forced to resign" implies he completely abandoned his senatorship - rather, he stepped down as parliamentary secretary.
[QUOTE=Mlisen14;37721346]Wow they're such champions of human rights, sacking homophobic secretaries like that. And yet today parliament still voted overwhelmingly against legalising gay marriage. Flip flop, motherfuckers.[/QUOTE]
I was just about to say this actually. Fucking oath Australia.
Why do people say "forced to resign" instead of "fired"?
If I could have one superpower it would be the ability to curse people to loudly announce their true motives and feelings like that one terrible movie.
I could ruin the entire world in three days.
Oh look it's a slippery slope argument.
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[QUOTE=Pace.;37722574]Why do people say "forced to resign" instead of "fired"?[/QUOTE]
Being forced to resign and being fired are different. When you resign you don't get any severance pay, but it doesn't look as bad on your CV as being fired.
I've known people who were asked to resign because the company didn't want to fire them and they stayed on as long as they could just out of spite.
Gay marriage was still struck down today, around 2:1 against.
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