of an abortion service. Medicinal cannabis In June 2014, Joyce changed his views about medicinal cannabis and publicly supported calls for the introduction of a medicinal cannabis trial following a high-profile campaign led by a young man in his constituency who was at the time suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer. By 2018, medical cannabis was generally legalised across Australia. Same-sex marriage In August 2014, Joyce spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage, attending several rallies on the matter in Canberra. In 2011, he lobbied against a bill proposed by senator Sarah Hanson-Young that would allow for same-sex couples to marry. On 9 December 2017, same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia. Death penalty In April 2015, Joyce called for a national debate on capital punishment in Australia, although he is personally opposed to the death penalty. Refugee intake In September 2015, Joyce was the first senior minister to call for the Australian Government to accept more Syrian refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis engulfing Turkey and Europe. However, his call to prioritise Christian refugees above those from other faiths drew criticism from some human rights observers. Parliamentary rules After the birth of his son Sebastian in April 2018, Joyce advocated for changes to parliamentary rules to allow senators and MPs to hire their spouses or partners and relatives. When questioned, he denied this could be a conflict of interest. In December 2018, Joyce raised this issue again to no avail. Religious schools In December 2018, Joyce said schools should be allowed to deny enrolment to transgender students. Burka Ban Joyce is opposed to Banning the Burka. Economic issues Populist agenda Joyce has often angered economic rationalist parliamentary colleagues in the LNP Coalition by taking up a number of causes often labelled as populist; such as his support for the retention of a single-desk wheat export marketing system for Australian grain growers, drought assistance for primary producers, amendments to the Trade Practices Act 1974, and media reform regulations that aimed to strengthen the ability of small business to compete with multi-national corporations. When questioned on his views, Joyce stated "Maybe I'm an agrarian socialist." Foreign investment in Australia On 17 March 2009, Joyce launched a privately funded advertising campaign to keep Rio Tinto local, attacking a bid by the Chinese government-owned resources company Chinalco, a bid which had also been heavily criticised by Legal & General in the