Marriage rally unrest

Wrest Point says venue no longer available for campaigners

AUSTRALIAN Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi says serious questions need to be asked of Wrest Point after a preplanned Coalition for Marriage rally can no longer go ahead at the venue.

The Coalition for Marriage has been forced to find a new venue for tomorrow night’s rally after Federal Hotels told the anti same-sex marriage organisation Wrest Point was not available.

“I know very little about why,” Senator Bernardi said.

“But I think there are legitimate questions to be asked why a venue that has been booked and paid for has suddenly become unavailable with no reason given about why.

“If nothing else, it is a terrible business practice.”

The rally at the Plenary Hall was aimed at parents and grandparents who were concerned about “radical gay sex education and gender ideology being taught in schools”.

A Wrest Point spokeswoman said the premises could not accommodate the booking in the required time frame.

The event was to be addressed by Senator Bernardi, the TV face of the no campaign Heidi McIvor and Coalition for Marriage spokespersons Lyle Shelton and Karen Dickson.

Spokeswoman Monica Doumit said the organisation’s Sydney headquarters received a phone call on Wednesday saying the venue was not available.

“On Monday, we signed a contract and on Tuesday, we paid the full amount of $2625 by bank transfer,” she said.

She said the venue operators had been apologetic, but gave no further reason other than unavailability.

Ms Doumit said Wrest Point had originally offered the Plenary Hall and Derwent Room before the Coalition settled on the Plenary Hall which can hold up to 600 people.

“We are intending to push on and find another venue,” Ms Doumit said.

Catholic Archbishop of Hobart Julian Porteous, who was invited to speak at the event, said denying anti samesex marriage campaigners a venue in which to express their views was “a direct challenge to freedom of speech in our society”.

The venue unavailability during the same-sex marriage postal survey comes after a Coalition for Marriage “Its Okay to Say No” billboard near the Hobart Showgrounds was removed by billboard owner Claude Neon after representations from Hit 100.9FM Hobart, which had an adjoining billboard.

Tasmanian Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff has said that there would be no radical gay sex education in Tasmanian schools “under his watch”.