今日吃瓜

Openly gay politician Dean Smith may be up for the fight of his life in order to retrain his seat on the Australian Senate following explosive allegations that he is being targeted by conservative powers within Liberal party ranks.

In a which has surfaced in The Western Australian, it has been revealed that Smith is to be placed last on the Liberal senate ticket at the next federal election. It follows after Senator Mathias Cormann in June that he would be leaving federal politics “within the next six months”听following the 2020 budget announcement, delivered in October.

Smith, elected to the Australian Senate as a representative of Western Australia in 2012, has continued to be a vocal advocate for the LGBTQI communities. In 2017, Smith introduced the historic marriage equality bill to the Australian parliament, following Australia苍鈥檚 having voted yes in the听postal survey on marriage equality.

At the time, Smith said 鈥渢he biggest hurdle鈥� for LGBTQI people is often 鈥渢hat of self-acceptance.鈥� Inclusion in the institution of marriage is vital because 鈥渘othing speaks more of acceptance than marriage.鈥�

It is because of such vocal support for LGBTQI communities and rights, that many within the Western Australian Liberal Party allegedly听feel disdain towards Smith.

听With pre-selectors still angry about his support for marriage equality they have听swung their support behind rival candidates including Barnett government minister Albert Jacob and policy committee chair Sherry Sufi. Currently, Michaelia Cash is secure in the number one position after Cormann鈥檚 resignation.

Sufi, in 2013 made for all the wrong reasons, saying of marriage equality that it was 鈥渁 perfidious and futile attack on language.鈥� The politicians more recent attacks include speaking out against constitutional recognition for First Nations people in 2016.

Jacob鈥檚 on the other hand, has strong ties to Christian conservatives and currently sits on the board of Perth鈥檚 Globalheart Church, a group which expels members if they 鈥�develop a mental illness鈥�. When in 2017, Jacob was pressed on this issue, to which he 听鈥淭丑补迟 it is their right as Christians to attend the church of their choice and they are entitled to be respected for their religious belief and their privacy in that, this is not a matter for political discussion.”

However, Smith鈥檚 relatively high profile in WA and role as chief government whip in the Senate is possibly enough to save him from being placed last on the Liberal senate ticket, with others claiming the possibility of Canberra stepping in to intervene in the process if it looks like he may be squeezed out.