University of Tasmania, Australia

On 28 July a public Q&A forum ‘Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?’ was hosted by UTAS Alumni at the Annexe Theatre, Inveresk as part of the University of Tasmania Public Debate Series 2011.

A panel of six speakers was chaired by Tim Cox of ABC RadioOn Tim Cox (ABC Radio). Tim introduced the panel, and each spoke for 3 minutes with their position statement.

The speakers were:

‘For’ marriage equality

• Rodney Croome
  Rodney is a spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group and Campaign Director for Australian Marriage Equality
  
• The Hon Nick McKim
  Nick McKim is Leader of the Tasmanian Greens and holds the Ministerial portfolios of: Education and Skills; Sustainable Transport; Corrections and Consumer Affairs
  
• Danielle Wood
  Danielle Wood is a UTAS alumna, Tasmanian author and lecturer in English at the University.

‘Against’ marriage equality

• Associate Professor Nicholas Tonti-Filippini
  Head of Bioethics at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family
  
• Matthew MacDonald
  Executive Officer of the Life, Marriage and Family Office
  Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne
  
• Campbell Markham
  A Minister in the Presbyterian Church of Australia, based in Hobart

Tim then directed questions to the panel members, and took some from the floor. A major area of contention was raised by Campbell Markham, who argued that changing the law to allow same-sex marriage would inevitably lead to polygamy in the long run. The ‘pro’ team refuted this utterly.

Each ‘side’ also produced the attached handout, which reflected the other arguments in the forum.