HuffPost, 10 August 2017:
"In less than 48 hours the Prime Minister has gone from promising to call out extreme voices to guaranteeing their view. He calls that strong leadership. Strong leaders do not need to say I am a strong leader. They prove it with their actions."
Shorten's stunning rebuke of the Government's policy comes after reports the postal vote may be susceptible to voter fraud and that people living overseas or in rural or remote areas may find it difficult to get their vote counted.
Labor and the Greens have been leading the charge against the plebiscite in the parliament, and the day after his senior colleague Penny Wong delivered a scathing rebuke to the voluntary postal vote, Shorten himself rose in the House of Representatives to deal a stinging speech of his own.
"I hold you responsible for every hurtful bit of filth that this debate will unleash" - watch this speech from Shorten on the plebiscite pic.twitter.com/NbBoe0EWKf— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) August 10, 2017
Shorten directed his anger squarely at the PM during an impassioned plea for Australians to vote "yes".
While Turnbull has repeatedly said he is a supporter of marriage equality, he's also repeatedly stuck with his predecessor Tony Abbott's policy of a plebiscite on the reform.
He's maintained that position despite multiple LGBTQ advocates and mental health experts (here, here, here and here) demonstrating that a plebiscite would be accompanied by a harmful public debate which may further marginalise the gay community.
It is not hard to find the predicted vileness. Within hours of Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement and Tony Abbott’s anti-marriage equality presser it was popping up on the Internet on social media, in chatrooms and online forums.
I am not going to link to examples as some of those Neanderthal comments are explicit and all are distressing in their ignorance or open hate.
For some politically insane reason Turnbull & Co don’t seem to think they will be publicly called out over their actions.
In this belief they are wrong.
In this belief they are wrong.
.@vanOnselenP: the postal plebiscite on gay marriage is driven to a large extent by 'bigotry' from the Liberal right https://t.co/LYFg2QuCWb pic.twitter.com/8tDs2HZByv— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2017
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