Bill Shorten hopes Pat Dodson’s presence in the Senate will help on the debate over constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Pat Dodson, the father of reconciliation, is set to become a Labor senator for Western Australia following Joe Bullock’s surprise announcement that he is quitting.
Philip Ruddock attracted the ire of human rights activists for his actions as a minister in the Howard government.
AAP/Dean Lewins
As Australia’s special envoy for human rights, Philip Ruddock will have the chance to change the world instead of listening to other people make suggestions about how it might be done.
Protesters gather outside the recent Anglican church meeting.
Gareth Fuller/PA
The Anglican church has been criticised for standing against gay marriage, but it has taken a positive step on an issue that many activists see as more important.
Malcolm Turnbull can put his values into practice by calling on all members of his party to vote in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.
AAP/Lukas Coch
A vote on whether same-sex couples can get married is discriminatory because it applies a standard to them that does not apply to heterosexual couples.
The Heritage Foundation has had a profound effect on defence spending and military action in the US.
Reuters/Jason Reed
Even many Americans don’t know much about organisations like the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation. But these groups play a critical role in advancing conservative policies.
Eric Abetz is resisting pressure to fall in line with the outcome of a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
How far should party discipline go? Not as far as certain proponents of same-sex marriage would like it to in the Liberal Party.
Coalition senator Eric Abetz claims he and other Liberal MPs do not have to respect the result of a coming plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
It is easy to envisage a number of arguments that MPs might use in an attempt to justify ignoring the result of a same-sex marriage plebiscite and voting contrary to its result.
How many issues can be put to the Australian people for votes in a single year? This is a key question for the referendum to recognise First Australians in the constitution.
Michelle Grattan and Michael de Percy discuss the week in politics, including the reforms Joe Hockey was unable to implement as treasurer and his likely new role as ambassador in the US.
Malcolm Turnbull risks provoking the conservatives within his party on the issue of same-sex marriage.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
It was another good day at the office for the Turnbull government. Finally, Labor came on board with the China-Australia free trade agreement. And a package of changes for savings from family tax benefits…
A protester holds a sign in support of Kim Davis, September 9 2015.
Chris Tilley/REUTERS
About 220,000 kids under the age of 18 are being raised in same-sex families in the US. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling failed to provide them with equal protection under the law.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his first Question Time in the top job.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull told the partyroom on Tuesday that nobody was more committed to “embracing our broad church” – the liberal and conservative traditions of the Liberal Party – than he was. That’s code for…
In many respects, Malcolm Turnbull seems an ideal Liberal leader for the 21st century – but there are some potential downsides.
AAP/Sam Mooy
Malcolm Turnbull’s problem is that he often seems to be slightly ahead of the times – and that he can’t always take either his party room or the public with him.
Children being raised by same-sex parents should be central to debates on whether Australia should hold a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
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Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity