Marriage Equality generated a strong, and positive grass-roots community campaign to win a YES survey result. We began the field campaign with the advantage that the majority of Australians supported marriage equality, so we just needed to make sure they completed and returned the survey. To some degree the campaign focus became the WHO not the WHAT. This is why some criticism was later made of the campaign, suggesting time and resources weren’t taken to challenge views in some communities. The campaign reality, though, was that a few campaign weeks wouldn’t change long-standing beliefs about LGBTIQ people. In those precious few weeks though our time had to be spent turning out the majority of the population who already supported marriage equality. The hard work had been done in the years since the Howard Government changed the Marriage Act to exclude LGBTIQ people. Now as our allies were the majority of the Australian public, getting their surveys into the mail had to be the priority.
Mobilising Concentrating on the WHO for unions included contributing a strong turn-out in the survey as well as supporting LGBTIQ union members during the campaign. In Victoria, for example, and replicated in other states, NTEU collaborated actively with Australian Marriage Equality, the National Union of Students, Victorian Trades Hall, the ACTU and the Victorian AIDS Council to do three things, 1. Mobilise those eligible to vote to enrol. 2. Build the momentum to vote YES. 3. Getting out the vote. A common thread in each of these actions was one on one conversations to mobilise individuals to participate in the survey. Unions very much helped mobilise the critical mass who supported marriage equality, both through internal campaigning and jumping into the public campaign proudly wearing our union affiliations. Simple campaign messaging was supported with online and hard copy fact sheets
and other resources that helped individuals have conversations with their workmates, their friends and families. Social media memes and posts were developed and shared widely. (One QUTE Facebook post, for example, was viewed by over 17,000 people.) Bright and colourful campaign posters developed at Victoria Trades Hall were ‘rebadged’ by unions throughout the country and distributed widely complimenting those distributed by Australian Marriage Equality and other organisations. Soon the posters were visible in communities everywhere. (Walking down the street seeing Trades Hall posters in every second small business window brought a smile to the face – and signalled potential opportunity for future collaboration!) Unions turned out to participate in major campaign events including ‘Knock Your Block’ (door knock) and ‘Ring Your Rellos’. We mobilised at national rallies that broke attendance records. Various ‘Yes Fest’ parties took the edge off the blunt messages many heard during the campaign including abuse and vandalism. Union members phone-banked using technology developed in partnership with Get Up and Australian Marriage Equality. An automated phone system generated a connection with an anonymous phone number likely to be a marriage equality supporter. The system tracked responses which helped the campaign reflect on campaign progress. Union members contributed to a count of over seven hundred and fifty thousand phone calls. A significant outcome of this work, besides the obvious survey result, was union visibility. In Victoria the survey announcement party was hosted at Victorian Trades Hall and attended by over twelve thousand people. ‘Yes Fests’ and other events were staffed by union activists and staff. Rally speakers included the union leadership. For many this was their first experience of trade unions and they saw them actively addressing a social justice issue. The door is open for further action as we now campaign to change more bad rules – starting with the (Un)fair Work Act.
Staying positive While the YES campaign focused its energy on mobilising the critical mass of supporters NO supporters sought to make the campaign a debate, with potentially negative consequences for LGBTIQ people. Community responses to this ‘push back’ were affirming and broad. Some terrific examples included: • Sidewalk chalkings in local streets with positive messages including rainbows and affirmations. • Embracing popular culture with US rap singer Macklemore performing Same Love at the NRL Grand Final and declaring ‘Equality for all!’ as rainbow fireworks exploded behind him.
• A Melbourne couple who painted a rainbow on their side fence which was adjacent to a postbox, and Sydney homeowners who painted their whole house façade rainbow, images of both used in media throughout the world. • Crowd funding money to purchase a giant rainbow flag to be flown in Sydney’s sky by helicopter, to challenge NO campaign skywriting. Unions also generated affirming and supportive resources for their members and regularly asked members to ‘check in’ with their LGBTIQ comrades. Many of our Branches hosted ‘Morning Tea For Equality’.
Looking ahead LGBTIQ activism doesn’t stop with the confetti and wedding cake. Communities and their allies, including unions, have much work to do address violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ people. Expansion of religious exemptions that may be suggested by the Government’s Religious Freedoms Review, for example, will be resisted by LGBTIQ communities and their allies. Moving beyond marriage, the discrimination of LGBTIQ workers in faith-based organisations funded by the public purse also needs challenging. Prohibiting invasive surgery of intersex children until they can provide informed consent and enacting various legislation, policies and procedures that empower transgender and non-binary individuals must be adopted. Tackling discriminatory asylum policy that sees LGBTIQ asylum seekers ‘proving’ their queerness; and ending gay/transgender ‘panic defence’ in South Australia are other issues. Reinstating Safe Schools funding to provide school students age appropriate ways of understanding gender and sexuality and challenging homophobia and transphobia in schools is overdue. Issues related to LGBTIQ people worldwide must also gain the focus of our campaigns. The shocking abduction, torture and killing of gay men in Chechnya is just the tip of the iceberg in a world where seventy six countries still outlaw homosexuality with punishment in many of these with death. Workers and their unions have shown during the marriage equality survey campaign that collective action works. Together we can work to making our world a safe and fair place for all of us. Dave Willis, Victorian Division Organiser www.facebook.com/qutenteu www.nteu.org.au/qute If you’d like more information about joining NTEU’s Queer Unionists in Tertiary Education, please email Dave: dwillis@nteu.org.au
Image, left: Victorian Division staff supporting the Yes case. Credit: Toby Cotton.
NTEU ADVOCATE • vol. 25 no. 1 • March 2018 • www.nteu.org.au/advocate • page 35