Christine Forster reveals insight into life as Tony Abbott’s lesbian sister
Image: Christine Forster (left) is a Liberal councillor for City of Sydney and the lesbian sister of Prime Minister Tony Abbott (right), who opposes marriage equality.
CITY of Sydney councillor and self-confessed “regular lesbian about town” Christine Forster has opened up about her personal life and relationship with her brother Prime Minister Tony Abbott in an interview with SBS 2’s The Feed.
Forster, who met her partner Virginia Edwards in 2003 where they both had sons attending the same school, said publicly coming out was a big decision.
“We were both married, and that meant we had to make very difficult decisions about our husbands and what that meant for our children,” she told SBS journalist and Mardi Gras TV co-host Patrick Abboud.
Forster said that when she came out, out of all her immediate family members, Abbott was the most supportive.
“People raise their eyebrows when I tell them this but it’s the honest truth,” she said.
“When I told him what was going on his response was ‘whatever you think you have to do I will support you’.”
Despite this, Abbott continues to oppose legislating marriage equality in Australia despite his lesbian sister.
Forster defended her brother’s views, saying Abbott does see her relationship with Edwards as valid. It just didn’t come under his umbrella of the institution of marriage.
“He sees… the legal definition of marriage as it was historically, he sees it that it has to be between a man and women,” Forster said.
“I think he’s wrong, but he’s entitled to his view.”
Forster, mother to four children, said that she came out later in her life due to an inability to come out when she was younger.
“I grew up in an environment where there was never any opportunity for me to pursue a same-sex relationship, it wasn’t something that was ever even considered remotely,” she recalled.
Virginia Edwards, Forster’s partner, said she felt proud that she and Christine could be a voice for the gay community.
“Families come in all shapes and sizes and they’re aren’t any conventions and nor should there be,” she said.
Watch the The Feed’s story:
Tony who? Who cares what he thinks? Is that the guy who used to be our prime minister?
she’s delusional
too little too late – bye bye Tony. Your sister doesn’t represent me or my family and I find that you will lie and backstab anyone to get your way . I will not vote ever for you – and your family is never welcome to my front door. goodbye one term tony.
Who cares?
#lol #BS really…
Bullshit Christine, admit it he is a nasty homophobe.
He’s obviously brain washed her with his pathetic broken record story !
Is this propaganda media?
Liberal councillor – enough said. A pair of jokers.
What a joke…..this idiot doesn’t support marriage Equality yet we’re supposed to believe he supports his Lesbian sister?????
Too bad it was only for show… F***ing p**ck that he is.
Hypocrite
How brave to come out as his sister!
I’m not racist cause I know a black person.
Fucking disgrace! !!
Sorry but you don’t represent me or the overwhelming majority of the gay community when try to find excuses or something remotely positive about Tony Abbott and his determined, steadfast policy of legislated discrimination. Get over yourself. Star Observer why give this person airtime when there are so many more valuable and interesting stories about real people to be told?
The story is about Christine Forster, not Tony Abbott. Our website and monthly magazine has a wide variety of valuable and interesting stories about our diverse community.
Star Observer you lost me at “she felt proud that she and Christine could be a voice for the gay community”. Anyone who tolerates or makes excuses for bigots and especially lawmakers who enshrine their hatred in legislation, is not a “friend or spokesperson” of the gay community. And you are wrong the story is all about Tony Abbott and his half hearted, most feeble attempt at trying to win the trust and support of Australians. Without her brother there isn’t a story.
100% agree Jim Culbertson well said…..
Shes another Uncle Tom that sells her so called people out
Legislated discrimination which is apparently the fault of Tony Abbott. Did he bring in this legislation? No. Did Whitlam, Hawk, Keating, Rudd, Gillard or Rudd remove this legislation you speak of? No. But hey blame Abbott for it if it makes you feel better.
Times have changed Adam Simmonds. The point is that he is opposed to any change in the legislation which is not reflective of the majority of Australians. He has actively campaigned and legislated to remove any progress on this issue. Please educate yourself!
Jeez, Adam sure sings the same song over and over again.
Tony Abbott is holding back marriage equality. It’s a fact. He doesn’t have to, but he chooses to, which makes him a nasty useless a**hole in my book. Not to worry, he won’t be Prime Minister for much longer. Maybe the next warm body in the job will wise up.
Labor also voted down marriage equality. Abbott is far from perfect but he is also not the monster the sydney morning herald make him out to be. He’s a good man.
Jim – there are more important things happening to this country that ‘rights’. Wake up.
Christine Forster doesn’t speak for me.
If you stopped being so self absorbed – victim mentality issues – you might be happy. Ffs – there are more important things than TA or frigging ‘rights’. Jim – wake up
Umm Gerald
It’s your rock that steals your oxygen or your lack of engaging in social issues, theory or just plain c’mon sense !
You seem way too absorbed with nonsensical govt rhetoric to engage in
What for so many is a daily
Struggle Whether it be our
Right to love as we choose , oops again I have offended your sensitive non sensibilities , well then what about oppressed others …. Oops I now know I am over your mindset !!!
Maybe it would be wise to research It really doesn’t hurt too much ….
Deborah, what makes you so special? Firstly you can cut the oppression bs – I faced the same being gay issues and yet, I found love w/o the need for some stupid straight institution. And I say that after 15yrs together with my ‘husband’
Like I said, instead of this ridiculous victim mentality, instead of believing you need marriage to help you – get on with life as a gay person, because, marriage isn’t going to make your ’15 yrs’ any more special or any less of a struggle – I know!
I’ve got 46yrs of ‘research’ it’s called life – now you go & get a life.
Gerald I’m not sure what world you live in but every sensible, caring, responsible person shouldn’t for a minute tolerate any form of legislated discrimination. Your own race, gender, age or sexual orientation doesn’t matter. Is this the most important issue facing the nation or the government? For some it is; others not. I would hope we have leadership able to walk and chew gum in the same breath. The electorate has moved on and the overwhelming majority supports marriage equality. It’s time for the bigoted laggards in government to catch up. Abbott is a major impediment by not allowing a conscience vote within his party on the matter. His days are numbered and so are the days of marriage inequality.
Gerald P Bartlett, I think you are being self-absorbed with your views. Just because your experience is one way, you cannot assume the rest of the world has the same experience. You come across as arrogant and smug because you have overcome obstacles. Would you have said the same thing to black South Africans during apartheid about not needing rights? It is not about how someone lives their life, it is about basic human rights, and then each person can decide how they use them.
Sure, Benjamin, Tony Abbott is such a “good man” that upon receipt of the Forgotten Children report from the Human Rights Commission which details child abuse in immigration detention, he sat on the report for FOUR MONTHS while Scott Morrison blackmailed the Senate to give the Immigration Minister unprecedented authoritarian power over the lives of these needy desperate people; and then belatedly began letting some of them out, all the while launching an extraordinary attack on the President of the Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs in a transparent attempt to coerce a statutory official to resign from independent office because he did not like the inconvenient truths she was reporting. Not a word said about the child abuse in government immigration detention centres, apart from Abbott saying, when asked if he felt any guilt about it, that he felt “NONE WHATSOEVER”. This is your so-called “good man”. It is behaviour like this and the fact that he insisted on writing a personal character reference for Father Gerard Nestor who was later defrocked by the Vatican for getting too friendly with the kiddies that have people rightly wondering if Tony Abbott may just be the best friend psychopaths and pedophiles could have. In so many regards, Tony Abbott’s own words and deeds do not portray him as a “good man”. This is a bad Prime Minister running a rotten corrupt cruel government fueled by lies, broken promises, stupid gaffes, bad decisions and awful policies.
100% agree Jim.
Not buying it sorry was he operating the teleprompter which was rolling the statement written by credlin why hasn’t she come out in defence of her oh so supportive brother cough cough cough vomit!
Cheers to ladies
Soon to be EX Prime Mister :-)
Well prove it liar…. allow a federal conscious vote on marriage equality
Hashtag Threatened…
Hoorah for Tony the supportive brother. Good on him. BUT he is now PM of a country and as such should be reflective of the community at large.
In that regard he is no different to the previous labour PM’s. .It’s like none believe the majority either support or are happily neutral on the same sex marriage issue. Who in the minority holds what over both sides of politics that they risk losing so many votes
Gosh. Imagine how the rest of them were then!?
He may accept and support his sister, but doesn’t appear to accept or support the wider GLBTI community.
Too little, too late.
Who cares? This leopard will never change his fundamental spots. Mr “I feel a bit threatened by homosexuality” is soon to lose the leadership of the Liberal Party and then no-one will need to give two hoots what the obnoxious jerk’s thoughts on anything are. Frankly, he can go jump and let Australia get on with growing up as a nation. Make sure the door hits you on the way out, Abbottsolutely Hopeless.
I think this was a great piece of coverage by sbs.
*Slow claps* (for the moron)
His first question was “which one does the ironing?”
Biggest supporter, eh? But the cunt won’t support marriage equality now, will he?
I’d love for you to talk to Phonny Scabbott on our behalf.
Marriage Equality is key to opening society into our diverse communities.
Why do they have different surnames? Is it because Tony is a cunt and the family abandoned him?
She may have been previously married and kept her surname, or perhaps she is a half-sister with a different father.
So why didn’t Rudd and Gillard do something about it during the six years they were in government? Too busy spending all the money on roof insulation, school halls and clunkers!
You’re nothing if not consistent Adam Simmonds.
More like a broken record Brodie
Adam, the ALP removed 58 pieces of legislation discriminating against gay & lesbian Australians after their 2007 win. True, they could have gone all the way and removed the marriage ban (which they voted for when John Howard proposed it).
Darren – you act like a moronic straight bogan with that language. Is that the only way you can get your message across. Wake up, it’s not all about you.