Exclusive: AME’s national director says there is ‘no split in the marriage equality movement’ but there is a ‘spectrum of different approaches’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The veteran gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome has quit as national director of Australian Marriage Equality (AME) to lobby parliamentarians to block the same-sex marriage plebiscite enabling legislation.

Croome, who founded AME in 2004, announced his departure in an opinion piece for Guardian Australia on Tuesday, accusing those who believe a plebiscite is inevitable of “lacking political imagination” and declaring blocking it could force a free vote in parliament on same-sex marriage.

After reports of a growing difference of opinion on tactics for achieving marriage equality, Croome said there was “no split in the movement” but rather “a spectrum of different approaches to a very difficult situation”.

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Croome said he, Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays Australia (Pflag), Rainbow Families and new LGBTI advocacy group just.equal “don’t accept the government’s ultimatum” on the plebiscite.

At the other end of the spectrum, Australians 4 Equality and Irish referendum campaigner, Tiernan Brady “reluctantly accept the ultimatum and are putting their energies into preparing to win a plebiscite”.

He said AME was “in between … carefully balancing both approaches, including trying to obtain the best terms possible for a plebiscite”.

Croome said he “genuinely believes a plebiscite can be stopped and marriage equality can be passed through parliament”.



“This is based on my near 30-year experience of advocating for LGBTI human rights, and on my conversations with Liberals and Nationals who support marriage equality.”

Croome said Liberals and Nationals were currently “locked in behind a plebiscite” but if the enabling legislation were blocked the “public spotlight will swing on to the government’s failure to allow a free vote”.

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“If a free vote isn’t allowed there’s still the possibility of Liberals heeding public opinion and crossing the floor.”

Croome has previously argued that as the numbers stand in parliament, at least 81 lower house MPs are in favour of marriage equality, enough to pass it into law if a free vote were allowed.

“We only need a four or five of them to swing behind a bill and the issue that has dogged Australian politics for years will finally be over.”



Croome said he feared vulnerable LGBTI people would be harmed by a plebiscite, including possible suicides.

“If there is a plebiscite, and when the first gay kid dies at his own hand because of the hate and fear-mongering, I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror and know I did everything I could to stop it … everything.”

“Sadly, that includes giving up my role at Australian Marriage Equality.”

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Croome said his work against the plebiscite put AME in an impossible position as it was tasked with negotiating the best possible terms for a plebiscite should one occur.

“Having me advocating against the government’s plan for a plebiscite makes it harder for AME to engage constructively with the government.”

He said his decision left each “free to go down different roads” and he would “be finding new ways to take AME’s stated opposition to a plebiscite to the next level”.

Labor has signalled it will bring a private member’s bill on marriage equality in the new parliament but the shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has said it is unlikely to pass because the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, will not allow a free vote.

The Coalition took its policy for a marriage equality plebiscite to the 2 July election.

Even key supporters of same-sex marriage in the Coalition – including the MPs Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman and Tim Wilson – now support a plebiscite as the way forward.

Marriage equality: Labor promises private member's bill when parliament resumes Read more

Although, as recently as March, Zimmerman promised to cross the floor and support a substantive bill on marriage equality, on Wednesday his spokesman said Labor’s bill was not on the government’s agenda to be debated.

AME co-chairman, Alex Greenwich, told Guardian Australia “very few people have contributed more to making marriage equality a reality than Rodney Croome”.

“We respect his position to spend his energy opposing a plebiscite.”



“But, as Rodney has said, there is a good chance we could have a plebiscite and we have decided if one is imposed on us we must prepare and be ready to win.”

Greenwich noted that both AME and Australians 4 Equality opposed a plebiscite and were committed to achieving marriage equality through a parliamentary vote.

He said assessments of whether a plebiscite could be stopped would be affected by the Senate crossbench and cross-party discussions.

“AME is committed to working with all LGBTI stakeholders and supporters of marriage equality, including Pflag, Rodney [Croome], and just.equal towards bringing our community together so we can all finally achieve reform for equal dignity.”

AME will conduct consultation in coming weeks about whether marriage equality supporters want to block the plebiscite and how they would conduct a plebiscite campaign.

Pflag released a survey on Monday which suggested a majority of LGBTI people opposed a plebiscite, even if it delayed legislation of same-sex marriage.