The lesbian sister of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said she is confident that gay marriage will come to the country by the end of the year.
Christine Forster, who proposed to her partner in 2013, said after the Irish referendum, reform was ‘inevitable in a developed Western democracy like Australia.’
‘I’ve always had full confidence that it was coming and that we would get there, and in the last few months, I’ve been increasingly confident that we would get there before the end of 2015,’ she told ABC’s Lateline.
Forster said it would be ‘one of the proudest moments of my life’ if reform came under the leadership of her brother, who is a Catholic and vocal opponent of gay marriage.
‘I think it’s highly appropriate that it would come under the prime ministership of Tony Abbott, because he is a wonderfully generously-spirited man,’ she said.
‘He is a very good and fair and decent human being and he, at the end of the day, I’m sure, will understand that this is something that is good and fair for everybody and that it will be great for Australia.’
Earlier this week, Forster urged her brother to allow a conscience vote on the issue.
‘I’d like something more from the current prime minister, who happens to be my brother,’ she told Sky News.
‘I absolutely will be lobbying my brother, and I hope the party room makes enough noise about this.’