Tasmanian Polley won’t cross the bridge too far

07 Sep 2012

By The Record

Labor member, Michael Polley, crossed the floor during the vote to pass the same-sex marriage bill in Tasmania

The only Labor member to cross the floor during the vote to pass the same-sex marriage bill in Tasmania, the member for Lyons and Speaker, Michael Polley says same-sex marriage is a bridge too far.

The Labor-Green bill passed 13 votes to 11, with all members of the Liberal Opposition voting against the bill.

Mr Polley crossed the floor on August 31 for the first time in his 41 years in parliament and says he stood up for what he believes in and had a moral guidance to do so.

“I am not homophobic. I supported decriminalisation … I just believe marriage is too far,” he told The Record in a telephone interview. “I have my particular beliefs, I stood up for what I believe in and if people don’t agree, then [we will see] in the next general election.”

Mr Polley is open about his Catholic faith and says his main reason for not supporting the bill is faith-based.

“My faith base is that the family is based on the mum and the dad and the children.”

“Once you move past a certain thing, as the years roll on they’ll become the norm and history has shown people drop their standards.”

Tasmania was the last state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality in 1997 and was the first state to establish a civil union scheme for same-sex couples and the second to allow civil unions in 2009. Overseas same-sex marriages are currently regonised in Tasmania.

A 2011 survey by Roy Morgan found 74 per cent of people support same-sex marriage in Tasmania but Mr Polley says the results of polls cannot be relied on to determine government policy. “The State Government isn’t based on opinion polls, you govern on what is right.”

The Marriage Act is set to be debated in both houses of Federal parliament in late September.

Mr Polley says marriage laws have always been national and the potential for a High Court case also influenced his decision to cross the floor.

“If you start having states with separate laws – if we are the only state in Australia that passes the law, are these marriages recognised in Queensland, are they recognised in Western Australia?”

Mr Polley’s action drew both praise and criticism from the Australian public but the true reaction to his vote will be evident in the 2014 Tasmanian general election. “At least people will know where I stand when they go to vote”.

Mr Polley says he will also cross the floor when the proposed euthanasia bill comes before parliament next year.

Tasmania’s religious leaders, Catholic Archbishop of Adrian Doyle and Anglican Bishop John Harrower, have urged the upper house to reject the same-sex marriage bill when parliament resumes in late September.