PARENTS and children often disagree, but local Young Nats have taken that up a level, voting in favour of marriage equality and sending a clear message to their party elders.
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At least two daughters of prominent regional political figures, have condemned procrastination on what they believe should be a straight-forward issue, at last weekend’s Young Nats conference.
Their stand for same- sex marriage appears at odds with their Nationals fathers – but progressive to the conservative older demographic in the northern electorates.
NSW Nationals Women’s Council chairman Claire Coulton, the daughter of Parkes MP Mark Coulton, has expressed disappointment that reform has been delayed in the federal party room.
“I believe, as most members of my generation do, that it’s about equality for people who are our friends and our family members,” Ms Coulton said.
“It’s a shame when something that is publicly supported becomes a game of political cat
and mouse, and I think that’s been disappointing to a lot of Coalition supporters.”
Ms Coulton’s father, chief whip for the Nationals, opposes same-sex marriage.
The move was praised by Australian Marriage Equality’s Rodney Croome for sending “a message to leaders of the Coalition government that they are out of step with young voters, including young conservatives”.
Tamworth’s Gil Burke, daughter of prominent Nationals executive and state chairman Bede Burke, attended the NSW Young Nationals annual conference in Corowa, and was one of the first to raise her hand when it came to passing the marriage-equality motion.
Ms Burke said it was a great weekend of excellent debates and getting together with her counterparts from across the southern sector of NSW.
“It was very close. We didn’t do a count, so I can’t tell you the exact ratio, but it was perhaps two-thirds to one-third,” she said.
That, and another motion, put forward calling on state and federal members to oppose the Shenhua coal mine, were the biggest issues of the weekend.
“There was quite a lot of debate around the Shenhua motion,” Ms Burke said.
“They were the two biggest and longest debates of the weekend – the most emotional, too, I’d say.”
Motions made at the annual conference are put in a submission to go through to the state conference, where most end up getting debated with all the senior party members.
“We’ve had quite a few motions in the past that have gone through and been passed,” she said.
