Michael Burge - Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love

Title Page

Q U E S T I O N A B L E D E E D S

Making a stand for equal love

M I C H A E L B U R G E

Foreword by

S H E L L E Y A R G E N T

About the author

MICHAEL BURGE is an Australian author and journalist who lives at Deepwater in the New England region of NSW with his husband and their dogs. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Michael undertook media studies in the United Kingdom. His debut novel Tank Water was published by MidnightSun. An earlier short story collection Closet His Closet Hers explored familial and institutional homophobia in Australia during the marriage equality campaign. Michael has written, edited, directed and broadcast for Fairfax Media, Intermedia, United News & Media, Margo Kingstons NoFibs and a range of lifestyle mastheads. He is director of the annual High Country Writers Festival in Glen Innes. His complete works can be found at www.burgewords.com

Fiction

Tank Water

Closet His Closet Hers

Non-fiction

Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love

Pluck: Exploits of the single-minded

Write, Regardless! A no-nonsense guide to plotting, packaging & promoting your book

Creating Waves: Critical takes on culture and politics

Plays

Merely Players

Copyright

First published in Australia in 2015 by www.burgewords.com

Reprinted 2019

This new edition published in Australia 2021 by High Country Books

www.highcountrywritersfestival.com

Copyright Michael Burge 2015

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Dedication

To Jono and Richard

Foreword

2015

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS STORY is not a work of fiction. What happened to Michael when his partner Jono died still happens to same-sex couples in Australia, even as this book goes to print.

Lack of understanding, denial of relationships, and homophobic beliefs within families are just a few reasons the exclusion of partners still regularly occurs during an emergency or as the result of a death, and exposing these issues is one of the great outcomes of the publication of this book.

LGBTIQA+ equality cannot be properly considered without acknowledging that when same-sex couples are allowed to marry, the disenfranchisement of a grieving partner will rarely occur as routinely as it did for Michael.

A marriage certificate represents different things to different people. For some, its the symbolism, the respect for the relationship or the inclusion in each partners family unit. For others, it provides emotional, financial and legal security.

For Michael and Jono, a marriage certificate would have instantly proven they were legally recognised spouses and therefore next-of-kin to one another. It would have made the family dispute Michael has written about legally irrelevant, and lessened his trauma and heartbreak after the loss of his beloved life partner.

For society, a marriage certificate remains a very strong benchmark for relationship recognition.

While LGBTIQA+ couples are blocked from accessing Australias Marriage Act, the recognition of their relationships, including de-facto family units, will remain at risk, particularly as Michaels book illustrates where death certification is concerned.

The rigid actions described in Questionable Deeds show there is still a long way to go in tackling homophobic attitudes and beliefs, but they provide more reasons to allow equal access to the legal protection that a marriage certificate provides.

As a parent of two sons one straight, one gay I could not imagine being cruel to the people my sons love.

As a family, we have embraced our gay son and his partner. We have made great friends and are part of a group that celebrates difference instead of fearing it.

My husband and I have always strived to encourage our gay son to be proud and live honestly. We would never want to deny his relationship in times of difficulty.

Same-sex couples have the same dreams, expectations and plans for the future as other couples, regardless of race and religion, and these need to be recognised.

I hope those who read this book see the need to speak up about how marriage equality is no threat to families, will not trivialise the institution of marriage, and cannot impact on Christian values or endanger society in any way.

What marriage equality will do is give same-sex couples the protections, choices and privileges that so many heterosexual couples take for granted.

Many see a marriage certificate as just a piece of paper, but realistically its a protection for the rights and a guide for the responsibilities between all couples.

All couples should be given the choice to nurture a marriage, to learn by direct experience what that form of coupling means, and understand that only the parties to a marriage contract can decide its parameters.

2021

BY 2017, the Liberal-National Coalition was becoming more frantic when its right-wing members of which there were many could see support for marriage equality gaining momentum in the polling.

In desperation, after questionable campaigns inflicted on the public by right-wing religious groups, the government under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull engaged the Australian Bureau of Statistics to hold a voluntary national survey, giving Australians two months to respond. Fortunately, people did, and were overwhelmingly in favour of marriage equality.

After years of delays, a free vote on marriage finally came to Canberra. I sat in parliament every day of the preliminaries, often the only person in the gallery. However, on December 7, 2017, it was standing room only, and the air was electric in the gallery and on the floor of the House of Representatives.

When the vote was finally won, tears flowed, there were lots of hugs and people sang. But I was crying because the battle wasnt over. We knew the religious right had been promised a religious freedom bill should they lose, and it was only a matter of time before it appeared.

In 2020, I decided it was time for me to retire from PFLAG and make space for a younger person with new ideas and more energy. I believe my successor Jane Hopkins has been the ideal choice for the role of National Spokesperson.

Now, in 2021, the discriminatory religious freedom bill is looming large under Prime Minister Scott Morrisons leadership. The proposed legislation isnt about freedom; its about religious privilege and cannot be good for any individual in a country that has been regarded as secular for some time.

I would like to thank Michael for asking me to write and update the foreword for his book. To me, its not only an honour to be asked, but as an activist for LGBTIQA+ rights including marriage equality it is such a privilege to speak out on what is a very important topic to me.

Shelley Argent OAM

(Former) National Spokesperson PFLAG

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays