Senator Eric Abetz (left) speaks to Senator James Paterson during Senate Question Time in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, November 14, 2017. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING

SSM bill amendments ‘recall Jewish persecution’: SA Liberal

A former Liberal state candidate has invoked Nazi-era Jewish persecution to criticise proposed ‘religious freedom’ amendments to same-sex marriage legislation championed by right-wingers within his own party.

Michael Manetta, who ran for the north-eastern suburbs seat of Torrens at the last state election, has posted a photograph of a 1940s-era German shop sign on his private Facebook account.

The sign translates as: ‘Jews are not served here.’

Manetta wrote that the message could be seen as “a sign for the proposed Patterson(sic)/Abetz amendments” to proposed same-sex marriage legislation, after a national survey last week delivered a comprehensive 61.6 per cent vote in favour of gay marriage.

Parliament is considering a private members bill by Liberal moderate Dean Smith, but his colleague James Paterson last week put forward his own proposed legislation, which contained a raft of protections for religious objectors to same-sex marriage.

Read the article by Tom Richardson in the InDaily.