The former prime minister Julia Gillard has acknowledged that it was “wrong” of her to want to argue the value of marriage in contemporary culture rather than be in favor of same-sex unions.
Since she believed in the conventional definition of the partnership, Ms. Gillard opposed same-sex marriage while she was prime minister and voted against a private member’s bill in 2012 that sought to legalize it.
Five years later, the national same-sex marriage postal survey was overseen by the then-Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, and more than 60% of respondents supported marriage equality.
Just before the year ended, less than a month after the results, the federal parliament formally passed the modification into law.
In the end, Ms. Gillard reversed course and came out in favor of same-sex unions, acknowledging that her parliamentary vote against it did not reflect her personal values.
After quitting politics, she admitted that another reason for her earlier stance was that she desired a more extensive discussion about the function of marriage and the necessity for nonreligious alternatives to legalize relationships.
When asked if she had to “play politics” when it came to her positions while in parliament, Ms. Gillard responded in the negative. She was speaking on the ABC TV program The ABC Of… with David Wenham.
“I wouldn’t say obliged, but it was a political issue,” she remarked.
“As a feminist, I’ve always wanted to have a more in-depth discussion about the function of marriage, and I felt this could be the right time.
I’m delighted to report that I made a serious error in judgment when I said that.
Then, “I was very happy to support marriage equality as the campaign for change grew stronger and stronger and it became clear that the only debate to be had was marriage equality.”
Marriage equality, according to Julia Gillard, was a political issue, but she did not feel compelled to “play politics” with it.
Ms. Gillard also reflected on her infamous 2012 address in front of the legislature, which was dubbed “misogynistic.”
At the time, the speech went viral, reaching millions of people in Australia and all across the world.
The creation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), one of Ms. Gillard’s great political accomplishments, was overshadowed by the address, which she acknowledged made her feel “a little bit resentful” at times.
It was the only topic of conversation regarding my tenure in office for a while, she recalled.
But the reality is that most leaders aren’t remembered for too much, so I’m at peace with it now. They hardly receive much recognition on a global scale.
Now that I spend a lot of time abroad, I find that when people talk to me about Australian politics, it’s usually because of that speech.
Ms. Gillard reflected on the past and noted that she was first elected at a period when women were proving they could function and survive in politics.
“So we were proving we could be great backbenchers, and then proving we could be great shadow ministers, and then proving we could be, you know, cabinet ministers in government, and on it went,” she continued.
And I believe we are currently at that stage, which is a fantastic moment to be in.
According to Ms. Gillard, it would now be unthinkable for another female MP to face the same type of gender-based criticism that she did, and doing so would come at a “huge” political cost.
