BULOKE Shire Council has thrown its support behind marriage equality in a bid to get the federal government to do the same.
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Council has agreed to publicly support marriage equality and write to federal politicians and marriage equality advocacy groups to advise them of council’s support.
Cr Ellen White said the main reason council passed the motion was to ensure people in the community felt supported.
‘‘Marriage equality has nothing to do with council, but community has a lot to do with council,’’ she said. ‘‘There is a motion coming up in the federal parliament sometime this year about marriage equality and we thought it was important our council supported a motion like that.
‘‘There are people in our community who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and it’s important they feel supported.’’
Cr White said part of the motion included writing to federal politicians.
‘‘We will tell them what we have done and we hope that when the motion comes out in parliament, federal members will vote for what they think, rather than along party lines,’’ she said.
Council’s motion generated feedback from both sides of the debate.
‘‘There has been quite a few letters to the editor in our local Buloke paper with people saying they don’t agree with council,’’ Cr White said. ‘‘But we’ve had other letters with a completely different point of view.
‘‘At the end of the day, what this has done is made the issue a topic of conversation, which is important.
‘‘If we had just gone out to the street and asked people about marriage equality, most people would not have known how to answer, because they aren’t informed about the issue.’’
Council’s motion to support marriage equality was passed unanimously.
Cr White said she would have been surprised if the other councillors did not support the idea.
‘‘We all want to see an inclusive community and a community that doesn’t discriminate,’’ she said.
A number of councils across Australia have passed similar motions to support marriage equality.
Cr White encouraged more Wimmera councils to do the same.
‘‘It would be fantastic if every local government area in Australia supported it and told the federal government what they thought,’’ she said.
Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome said Buloke council’s decision showed there was strong support for marriage equality in rural Victoria.
‘‘Advocates have welcomed the support for marriage equality from council,’’ he said.