LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
GIPPSLAND MHR Darren Chester’s announcement that he would vote in favour of homosexual marriage is more than a backflip betrayal of Gippslanders and his grass roots supporters.
It also blatantly contradicts his previous promises on the issue reflected in his parliamentary statements.
Hansard confirms that Mr Chester has addressed parliament on the issue three times August 24, 2011, June 18, 2012 and June 25, 2012.
On each occasion, he confirmed publicly that a majority of Gippslanders opposed homosexual marriage, and that this accorded with his personal view.
In 2011, his electorate survey recorded 64 per cent opposition.
In 2013, his survey recorded 66 per cent opposition.
Both surveys showed a lowly 26 per cent of respondents supported change.
However Mr Chester’s backflip on this issue is all the more extraordinary when you consider his parliamentary speech on June 18, 2012.
In that speech, Mr Chester stated that his opposition to homosexual marriage was a matter of “political consistency” and “personal integrity” on his part.
Moreover, he told parliament:
“Unlike the Prime Minister (Julia Gillard) and her breach of trust in relation to the carbon tax, if I intend to change my position the only fair thing to do for the people of Gippsland would be to take a principled course of action and campaign on that basis in the lead-up to the next election.”
In his own words, Mr Chester has committed the same political sin as Julia Gillard on the carbon tax.
He never told Gippslanders before the 2013 election that a vote for him was a vote for homosexual marriage.
He has no mandate to vote for change, and, as he himself admitted on June 18, 2012, his backflip betrayal is both unfair and unprincipled.
Mr Chester’s choice of language is that of a clever politician.
Notice how he refers to allegedly growing “momentum” in the community and feedback from secondary school visits.
Tellingly, he never lets himself be quoted, claiming that a majority of Gippslanders support any change.
References to electorate surveys are omitted.
If his consultation had returned a majority in favour, no doubt that would be trumpeted to all and sundry.
Learned observers of Australian politics would have realised that Mr Chester was positioning himself for his backflip betrayal weeks ago.
When he was still supposedly seeking the views of the electorate, on May 28, The Courier Mail reported that Chester had “switched sides” and become a supporter of homosexual marriage.
The Herald Sun on June 2 reported that Chester “formally declared [his] position but made clear they are likely to support a yes vote”.
Gippslanders have been conned by a sham consultation designed to give Mr Chester a fig leaf of dignity for his five minutes of fame in the left-wing press.
