I sit here tonight, completely bored of uni work. For some reason or another, I feel it is time to improve my debating skills and essay techniques. Being an engineering student, I haven’t written a decent piece of writing for over 3 years. So I decided tonight, I would get political. Usually, I’m not politically outspoken, usually because my views do not favour the extreme left and I fear my head would get bitten off if I ever opened my mouth.
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What does it mean to be gay and a Liberal? Contradiction in terms I hear you say. Yet I sit here with a twinky sleeveless top, Morissey jeans, a bleached blonde haircut and a membership to the Young Liberals in my wallet. I am not an anomaly… I am one of many. We are not the outspoken… neither seen protesting nor campaigning, but calmly working on our own goals behind the scenes whilst the more passioinate take to the soapbox. So why would we choose such a path?
Popular media has often portrayed the Liberal Party as anti-gay and indeed in some ways it is. The Liberal Party took the public stance of being anti-gay over 20 years ago, most notably in 1982 when the NSW Liberal / National Party voted unanimously against amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1975 (introduced by Premier Neville Wran) to include homosexuals in the Act. And it’s even prevalent in the Federal Parliament. The issue of gay marriage is one that has been thrown about the halls of parliament constantly in recent times, and John Howard intends to use it as a political wedge for the next election. The reason why I choose to support them comes from many levels.
To come from a purely capitalist standpoint, fiscal policy and industrial relations policy is one of the major strongpoints of the Liberal Party, particularly in the past 15 years since the introduction of the Workplace Relations Act and the formation of the Business Council of Australia in the early 90′s. With unions on the demise, and enterprise bargaining and globalism now taking over, capitalist Australia is enjoying some of the most financially prosperous times in its history. After the era of Bob Hawke and more notably Paul Keating (with the recession we “had to have”), the Liberal Party has treated Australia to improved worker relations in line with the changing nature of the workplace from what it was 20 years ago when the ACTU was formed. And whether gay or not, I, like everyone else, must be able to succeed in the workplace and work in a successful economy. With the combination of engineering and commerce, I will more than likely be an employer rather than an employee after time. One could argue that being born into a conservative Liberal family and being sent to a wealthy private GPS school I was born with the silver spoon already in my mouth and my beliefs set without justifying them. Considering the way I have rebelled and spited every other aspect of my family and upbringing, I should have been expected by now to be an extreme-left socialite and uni drop-out. However, I live in the real world, which unfortunately does require money and capitalism to be able to prosper.
Of course, the anti-gay and anti-student nature of the Liberal Party troubles me. Labor has done much in terms of the Anti-Discrimination Act and the Higher Education Contribution Scheme to aid these issues. The reality of the fact is, that, with or without my support, the Liberal Party will continue to be voted in by Australia’s conservatives and businessmen on a regular basis. If they do not have an influx of young gay people, then Australia will continue to face an uphill struggle for gay rights and the right to higher education. Standing on a soapbox and yelling in the streets is not going to change a government, nor the public’s opinion. Let’s face it, students have been predominantly left-wing and protesters for the past 100 years. But how often do they really make a difference? There are plenty of young gay people involved in Labor movements, NOLS and the like. They don’t need any more to their numbers. It is pretty well established that the young Labor movement is pro gay. It is the Liberals that need the support. And yes, it’s an uphill struggle, but with the right involvement of our youth in it, then changes can be made. Call it “undermining from within”. Call it what you may. But it requires careful planning and the right approach. Already, the Young Liberals have been infiltrated with queer youth… in fact if you go along to a YL meeting you’ve probably got a good chance of picking up. The USYD Liberal movement too has a large gay contingent to it as well. I should know, I used to go out with the president of it. I applaud their efforts and join their ranks.
Whilst students are famous for being ideologists, we must face the reality that the Liberal Party is here to stay, and that they encourage a more prosperous and secure country, which benefits everyone, gay or not. It is an uphill battle for gay conservatives, but so long as both left wing and right wing are fighting for the cause, then changes will be made.
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Well, that’s it from me for now… it’s hard to get all my thoughts together and I hope it gets my point across well. Please leave comments, I love a good political debate, and considering the political persuations of the people who will be reading this, I welcome your thoughts!
So i’m very happy.. I get paid again this semester, so I can finally afford my textbooks, and maybe just one night out to celebrate 
(what other good use is there for scholarships if not to spend on booze?)
