Quoting the Bible in the gay marriage debate is no longer an argument says Greens candidate for Whitsunday Jonathan Dykyj who this week is imploring Christian faithfuls to read on."The Bible says marriage should be between a man and a woman. This is true, it does state this. But in the very next paragraph it says that marriage should be forever. If they are going to quote the verses why aren’t they out there advocating as strongly against the 50 per cent of couples now who get divorced," Mr Dykyj said.
Setting aside the extreme views that some community members hold on the same sex union debate, the Greens candidate welcomed Labor’s move to catch up with a motion the greens have been pushing for some time.
"It’s a good first step but the ultimate change in the marriage act cannot be done at the state level," he said.
"And why shouldn’t two consenting adults be able to have the same rights as others? Back in the day you couldn’t marry someone outside religion or race but times have changed … and that is basically because love transcends all barriers and bounds," he said.
Member for Whitsunday Jan Jarratt is sure clever local tourism operators are already working to capitalise on the new opportunity brought about by a same sex union bill passed in parliament last week.
The Guardian caught up with Ms Jarratt at the Whitsunday Coast Airport moments after she landed last Friday.
"This (bill) not only bolsters "brand Queensland" by promoting our state as a friendly and tolerant destination, it delivers a very practical economic boost," she said.
"The Whitsundays is internationally renowned as an unbeatable wedding destination and for the family and friends of same-sex couples it will certainly be much easier to attend a ceremony in Queensland, rather than having to travel interstate or overseas."
Ms Jarratt says research shows the niche market actually represents one of the fastest growing and most profitable tourism segments in the international travel industry.
"This market likes to travel and has the money and flexibility to travel frequently," she said.
LNP candidate for Whitsunday Jason Costigan says he is terribly disappointed with the outcome of the vote.
"Labor’s Jan Jarratt and the tree-huggers who’ve been holding this country to ransom might be jumping for joy but I’m certainly not."
"This vote served two purposes for Labor – firstly, to distract people from the real issues such as cost-of-living pressures and secondly, to score Greens preferences to keep people like Andrew Fraser in the Parliament," Mr Costigan said.
"I maintain that marriage is between a man and a woman, simple as that. Even traditional Labor voters must be thinking...the Labor Party is off its head."
"I wonder what the response would be from various church groups, ministers, etc, in the local community?
"I’m sure they’d love to weigh into this debate."
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