They were in no doubt about what they were going to do and the law gave them the cover to do it and some very talented if not evil cartoonists put their agenda into a populist and easily digestible format. Does this sound familiar? Don't underestimate just how important cartoons were for the Nazis in spreading their message, playing on people's fears, their prejudices in the most base and clever way. It worked a treat for them; it's worked a treat for all other extremists of the right and the left then and now. It's still working a treat now.

No one really thinks about how this will impact the young, the marginalised, the scared, and certainly the cartoonist who draws it and the people who originally publish it will cry "freedom of speech". Today it's no different; this is not about freedom of speech, this is about respect. It's about respect for the past and wanting a future for all of us, not just those who think they are the arbiters of what's right and what's not.

There's a debate going on in Australia right now about marriage equality, the key word here is equality and that means every single Australian no matter who or what they deserve to be treated equally under our laws. Parliament makes our laws, that's what we elect it to do and that's what we expect them to do – we don't do it by opinion poll. When we allow that crucial component of democracy to be set aside the consequences can be deadly.

This is not about me, it's about my partner, my friends, my family, my community and our right to live in peace and to love in peace and to share our lives together, to raise our children, to care for our partners and to receive the respect and protection that the laws of the land must deliver to all of us without discrimination.

I am not saying that anyone in the debate about marriage equality is a Nazi, but using the Nazis tools obviously has some appeal. Nor am I saying that a plebiscite is 100 per cent a bad thing. What I am saying is that a plebiscite is not the way we make laws in our country, nor should it be. It certainly shouldn't be a compulsory vote for the electors and an optional vote on whether our elected parliamentarians support the outcome in the parliament.