Australian PM Who Fought Against Equal Marriage Now Claims He “Made It Happen”

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is now claiming credit for equal marriage after fighting tooth-and-nail against it.

Abbott initially rejected the idea of a public vote on the issue when he was in power. When his successor Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull held the 2017 postal vote he was one of the loudest voices in the “vote no” camp, running a highly publicised campaign against the LGBT+ community.

However, when speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald he said: “When all is said and done, I helped to make the [equal marriage vote] happen.

“I set up the process which opened up the possibility and even the likelihood of change.

“Now that it has happened, I absolutely accept the outcome. It’s the law of the land and that’s the way it is.”

Some of Abbott’s harmful rhetoric during the campaign included slogans like: “If you don’t like same-sex marriage: vote no.

“If you are worried about freedom of speech and freedom of religion, vote no.

“If you don’t like political correctness, vote no, because this is the best way to stop it in its tracks.”

He also claimed voting no would “protect women and children,” arguing that “children should have both a mother and a father.”

At a particularly ugly moment in the campaign he even suggested it would be “best” for his lesbian sister’s children to be raised by a straight couple.

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