Tim Wilson has been a prominent face in the same-sex marriage debate, in part for contradicting the anti-marriage equality advocates in his own party.
Today, the Liberal MP proposed to his long-term partner in the House of Representatives while addressing the same-sex marriage bill which has finally been introduced to the Lower House.
“In my first speech I defined our bond by the ring that sits on both of our left hands,” Mr Wilson said.
“They are the answer to the question we cannot ask.
“So there’s only one thing left to do; Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?”
Mr Wilson and his schoolteacher partner have been engaged for nine years already but the MP became emotional when reaffirming his proposal.
“This debate has been the soundtrack to our relationship,” Mr Wilson said.
“We both know this issue isn’t the reason we got involved in politics — give us tax reform any day!”
He added he had been reluctant to truly celebrate their engagement in the past thanks to varying reactions from friends when he first announced the news.
“Always with an eye to the future, the Member for Kooyong [Josh Frydenberg] and his wife Amy sent flowers, but when we told others, many simply didn’t know how to react,” he said.
Some simply didn’t reply to his texts, while others uncomfortably changed the conversation. With marriage equality not on the horizon, one person asked him, “why bother?”
“For a while, Ryan kept pushing for an engagement party but the truth was I kept delaying it, perhaps wrongly, because the strong message I took from so many people’s silence was no-one would come,” he said.
Deputy speaker Rob Mitchell congratulated the couple and made sure the applause didn’t drown out Mr Bolger’s reply.
“We should let Hansard note to record that was a ‘yes’, a resounding ‘yes’,” he said.
