The meeting in a pub that inspired Warren Entsch's fight for same-sex marriage

Australia Broadcast Center

26-04-2025

It's the 1980s
and Warren Entsch is in the bar of the Purple Pub in remote Normanton, drinking with a friend.
It would become a turning point that forever changed a humble bull catcher from the Gulf Country and would later transform the whole nation.
It was a place he frequented when working in the bush, and would make the trek into town every six weeks or so for a night out with friends.
Often one of his friend's cousins would join them, but they had suddenly stopped attending the nights out over Christmas.
Months had passed before Entsch found himself sitting face-to-face with his drinking buddy at the Purple Pub.
The Purple Pub in Normanton, Queensland.
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Supplied: The Purple Pub
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"Next thing, this little bird come [sic] flitting through in a boob tube and short shorts," he says.
"And I said, 'who the hell is that?'"
His friend said the woman in question had recently returned from interstate after undergoing gender affirmation surgery.
Furthermore, they were the person Entsch had shared many a beer with.
"I was gobsmacked," Entsch recalls.
"I was totally naive, but at the same time I thought how hard it must have been living like that.
"You know, it must be so bloody impossible for them."
It got him thinking, then planning, and acting.
A young Warren Entsch worked as a crocodile wrangler before getting into politics.
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A long-fought-for legacy
Warren Entsch has fought and won the seat of Leichhardt nine times for the Coalition.
But back in 1996, the cattleman, bull catcher and crocodile farmer took his first steps in the unfamiliar crisp Canberra air as a politician. And when he did he was accompanied by that unforgettable memory.
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It was the start of a journey that would become a defining legacy — the passing of Australia's same-sex marriage legislation on December 9, 2017.
The historic moment was the culmination of years of unwavering advocacy by Entsch inside the Liberal Party.
When Entsch returned to parliament in 2010 after a short-lived retirement, he says he had "unfinished business" — including legalising same-sex marriage — but being named the Coalition's party whip meant he had to pause his advocacy.
"I couldn't do anything for three years because Tony [Abbott] made me the chief whip," Entsch says.
"I said to Tony when I got back in 2010, 'I'm going to respect the decision you've made, but don't do it again in 2013, otherwise I'll go against you'. And to his credit, he said he wouldn't and he didn't."
Entsch and Tony Abbott had different views on same-sex marriage.
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AAP: Paul Miller
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Evidence of Entsch's respect of his party leader's decision was clear in September 2010, when he said he didn't consider same-sex marriage an important issue, and again two years later when he voted against a private member's bill introduced by then-Labor backbencher Stephen Jones that would have legalised same-sex marriage.
In August 2015, Entsch introduced a private member's bill to legalise same-sex marriage, an act of defiance against then-prime minister Abbott, who had denied Coalition MPs and senators a conscience vote on the issue a week earlier.
Entsch introduced his same-sex marriage bill in the House of Representatives on August 17, 2015.
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AAP: Mick Tsikas
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Entsch's bill was never voted on, but during the 2016 federal election, the Coalition committed to consult Australians on same-sex marriage through a plebiscite.
That Coalition government, led by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, failed to garner support in the parliament for a plebiscite, and instead held a voluntary postal survey in 2017.
Almost 13 million people completed the survey, with 61.6 per cent of participants voting "yes" to the question: Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?
The Marriage Act was amended in the House of Representatives on December 7, 2017, became law the next day, and came into effect the day after.
Entsch walked out of the House of Representatives with fellow Coalition MP Trent Zimmerman after the same-sex marriage bill passed.
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ABC News: Marco Catalano
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'Changed people's lives'
The momentous result of his long battle still fills Entsch with pride.
"I was quite emotional," he recalls, his eyes misty with the memory.
"It gives me huge pride, huge pride.
"I've been invited to a number of weddings. I've had some wonderful messages from people that have had the opportunity, now, to express their love in the way they wanted to."
In the moments after the vote, a man he had never seen before approached him and gave him a big hug.
"You suddenly realise, you've made a difference. You've changed people's lives," he says.
Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifted up Labor MP Linda Burney to celebrate the passing of the same-sex marriage bill.
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AAP: Lukas Coch
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Utterly exhausted, Entsch retreated to his office after the vote.
Sitting alone, the conservative rural Queenslander reflected on the social revolution he had driven and now achieved.
He believes the change in the law has saved lives.
"The cemetery is full of a lot of people that could never come to terms with their sexuality," Entsch says.
"Why would we make their lives any more difficult than what it is?"
As he relays the story, there are tears rolling down the 74-year-old's cheeks.
Now nearly eight years later, the drama, the elation and for some, the fury of that moment, is history. But it may have never happened.
Entsch still gets emotional when he reflects on the social revolution he was a part of.
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ABC News: Richard Mockler
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Swimming against the tide
Fighting for same-sex marriage was not always easy for Entsch and throughout his long push some figures on his side of politics wanted him sacked over his stance.
"I had been threatened with disendorsement, some of the hierarchy within my own party in Queensland were not happy with it," he says.
Entsch believes the religious beliefs of some politicians negatively influenced their views on same-sex marriage.
"A lot of it was based on religion," he says.
"They just felt that their religion meant that it just couldn't happen. I'd be reluctant to say it was homophobia."
Warren Entsch says he was considered by some as an outsider in his own political party for his views.
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ABC News: Matt Roberts
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Entsch recalls a moment in the party room in 2007 when he stood up and berated his colleagues.
"You guys have got to take your mind out of the gutter," he told them.
"You're thinking too much about the sex. You're not thinking about the relationship."
Entsch says that was a turning point.
"One of my colleagues stood up and said, 'I support Entschy on this, he's doing the right thing'," he recalls.
Asked who it was, Entsch delivered a surprising answer.
"Barnaby Joyce."
7.30 made several attempts to contact Mr Joyce, who ultimately abstained from the vote on same-sex marriage, about the party meeting but did not receive a response.
A young Barnaby Joyce allegedly supported Entsch's stance in a heated party room meeting in 2007.
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AAP: Alan Porritt
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Feeling 'safe' and 'seen'
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While the passing of same-sex marriage into law was the ultimate victory, for Entsch, the memories of those he helped along the way remain important, as do the relationships forged.
In 2012 he sensed something was wrong with a journalist who had come to interview him.
At the end of their discussions, the veteran MP got up and closed the door and asked the journalist if there was anything she wanted to share.
It all came pouring out. In a highly emotional state, the journalist confided that she wanted to become a woman, and feared being rejected by her family.
When she turned to leave, she went to shake Entsch's hand.
"I said, 'give me a hug'. And it still makes me emotional," he says.
"I felt a tremor, [she] absolutely trembled, and as [she] was leaving, I gave [her] a kiss on the cheek.
"And as [she] was walking out, I was thinking, 'God, it's going to be a hard road for you'."
Warren Entsch's office had been a safe space for vulnerable conversations.
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ABC News
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Some time later, Entsch got a phone call from the journalist — his now-friend, Kate.
"She's very emotional, teary, and she says 'you're not going to believe it'. And I said 'what'?"
"'Dad's called me Kate,'" she replied.
Almost thirteen years later, Kate Doak still credits Entsch with saving her life.
"Warren soon noticed during the interview that I was struggling with something major," she told 7.30.
"I felt safe telling my own story fully for the first time, while also truly believing subconsciously that I had a future.
"While I entered Warren's office presenting as Colin, leaving it feeling seen as Kate ultimately changed my world.
"
For Warren to have done this unexpectedly ... is a testament to who he is as both a person and as an ally of the LGBTIQ+ community.
"
Journalist Kate Doak credits Entsch with saving her life.
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A new fight
Entsch may be stepping away from politics, but he is still a passionate supporter of gender and identity matters, especially for transgender people.
He supports the right of young people to be given puberty blockers as part of their gender transition, but the issue is controversial — especially in his home state of Queensland.
In January, the
Victoria's
Health minister Tim Nicholls said that the Queensland Children's Gender Service would still offer all other clinical support to adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria, including "psychiatric and psychological treatment, counselling, and other clinically recommended medical interventions".
The review, commissioned by the David Crisafulli-led LNP government,
The Queensland Children's Hospital is one of the state's public hospitals that provides specialist care for trans and gender diverse children.
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ABC News: Marc Smith
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It also follows a
Entsch believes it's a decision that transgender people need to feel confident in making, with a network of supporters behind them.
"As long as it's the person and the family and the doctors and everybody does it, I think there's no issue with it, in my view," he says.
He thinks back to people like Kate, and how their quality of life has been enriched by living as their true selves.
"They've grown up into beautiful young women. They've had the support of their family, their community, their school, and it's been fantastic," Entsch says.
Entsch's support for the LGBTQIA+ community is front and centre in this portrait.
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Supplied
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A life outside of politics
Entsch is not short of things to do post politics. He's got a farm to run, and he's on the boards of organisations here in Australia and internationally.
But occasionally he finds himself at a loose end. You get the sense he's not lost, but not yet fully found. However his journey to here has taught him valuable lessons.
"Don't be too bloody judgemental," he says.
"Listen to [people's] stories and have a little empathy and don't be afraid to speak out."
Warren Entsch encourages people to be more empathetic and less judgemental.
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ABC News: Richard Mockler
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And he has something that can inspire and reinvigorate him when the personal attacks get him down.
It's a letter that he had laminated from the woman who so profoundly changed his life. The person who opened his eyes to the pain and potential of humans whatever their sexuality or situation.
She thanked him for supporting her all those years ago. And for what that meant for her journey.
Her name is Alana. After that encounter at the Normanton pub, she went back to school and then university.
She's now a doctor and a cattle farmer working in Far North Queensland.
Although she's been a feature in many of Entsch's speeches and interviews over the years, she has never spoken publicly — until now.
"It seems surreal now that this meeting [at the pub] had such an impact or that it was to contribute to changing Australian law and history decades down the track," Alana, who asked for her surname to be withheld, told 7.30.
"Growing up in a small country town for much of my life up until then without television, I had no idea that other people feeling like me even existed.
"What Warren represents and advocates [for] is that everyone deserves a 'fair go' and an equal opportunity regardless if it is the LGBTIQ community or rural and remote communities in general."
And the man whose life she changed could not be prouder of her.
"Why would we … decide we're going to judge somebody, and put them in an early grave?" he says wistfully.
"That's just how I feel."
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