Apologies for not reporting this master-class in the defence of marriage, by the ACL boss Lyle Shelton, who penetrated deep into the enemy territory of ABC Radio National.
Pure gold: so focussed on the heart of the matter - being the fact that gay 'marriage' means gay PARENTING under international law, and that means a child of such a 'marriage' is forced - by an abusive Act of Parliament - to miss out on either their mother or their father. What is there to celebrate?
Not to mention (as Lyle does) the profound consequences such as the state usurping the authority of parents in the moral education of their children; not to mention the state harassment (seen overseas) of individuals who believe marriage can only ever be a man-woman thing; not to mention Lyle's cut-through point that if you remove the criterion of gender from marriage, it is not logically possible to limit marriage by number. Gee, did the question of group marriage get Fran Kelly hopping and wishing she had got some tame gay activist on again, yet again, for her show…
Poor Ms Kelly and the ABC: haven't they learnt that the only safe way to promote the ABC line on same-sex marriage is to continue to exclude and censor voices like Lyle Shelton and the rest of us?
After all, they control the high ground and can do what they want: straight after this interview by leading lesbian broadcaster and same-sex marriage advocate Fran Kelly the podcast shuffle served up another interview by leading lesbian broadcaster and same-sex marriage advocate Patricia Karvelas, and who knows which inner-city gay activist is on after that…
Given that only 0.8% of Australian women identify as exclusively same-sex attracted (less than one in a hundred) according to the major peer-reviewed research project 'Sex in Australia' published in 2003, there would appear to be serious over-representation of the lesbian point of view at Your ABC - but hey, that's politics. Paid for by your taxes.
Fran Kelly has been acknowledged by the gay community as "one of the country's most influential gay and lesbian Australians" and she says of herself, "What I am, really am, is an activist." Hence her "I'm an activists" attempt to silence Lyle Shelton as he made the intelligent - and politically challenging - point about the link between gay marriage and group marriage. Activist, and unprofessional.
Veteran media critic Gerard Henderson noted the interview Kelly had with Shelton and made this point about the enduring bias of Ms Kelly and her ABC:
FRAN KELLLY’S CONTRASTING INERVIEW STYLES
While on the issue of RN Breakfast, Fran (“I’m an activist”) Kelly and all that – it is worth considering the contrasting interviewing styles evident on the program.
On Monday, Kelly interviewed – if “interview” is the correct word – Lyle Shelton, managing director of the conservative Christian Lobby. Mr Shelton is a strong opponent of what is called same-sex marriage and Ms Kelly is a strong supporter of changing the traditional definition of marriage from a union between a man and a woman to something else.
Fran Kelly constantly interrupted Lyle Shelton, challenged his views and ended up terminating the interview when her guest said something with which she disagreed. [Oh dear – perhaps theRN National presenter should enrol in Nancy’s Courtesy Classes with the aim of graduating with an AC gong – as in “Always Courteous”. Just a thought – Ed]
Soon after, Fran Kelly interviewed Francis Sullivan of the Catholic Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Commission (TJHC), who spent a considerable part of the interview criticising the socially conservative George Pell. Needless to say, on this occasion Ms Kelly was completely courteous – refraining from challenging Sullivan’s comments and not interrupting. Moreover, the Kelly/Sullivan interview ended in a most courteous manner. Can you bear it?
So it is a near-miracle that the interview happened at all. Please SHARE this interview: you may never hear another like it on the government broadcaster...
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