“So let us continue the 45th Parliament in the way we begin it today with mutual respect, goodwill and a shared commitment to advance Australia and all Australians”, Turnbull said.
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But the proposal is being blocked by opposition parties, who support equal marriage but see a plebiscite see it as costly measure inviting homophobic debate.
Labor has thrown a spanner into the works of the same-sex marriage plebiscite plans by announcing that it will introduce a private member’s bill into parliament.
As MPs gather in Canberra for the ceremonial opening of Parliament on Tuesday, a Newspoll in The Australian showed Mr Turnbull’s net satisfaction rate had reached a new low, while support for the government has fallen since the July 2 election.
Turnbull’s authority was undermined by the election, which cost his government 14 seats and left it with a single-seat majority in the House of Representatives. The vote on Australia becoming a republic is a key example of this.
Cross-bench MPs the Greens’ Adam Bandt and Independents Cathy McGowan and Adam Wilkie also announced plans to introduce a cross-party marriage equality bill.
In this context, Mr Shorten has asked Mr Turnbull to back the motion, much as Mr Beazley sought support from Mr Howard in 1996 after the election of Senator Hanson for the first time in the lower house.
Some Labor figures have said Labor will vote in line with their pre-election position but senior left-winger Anthony Albanese warned on Sunday that the party should be “very cautious about voting for anything that hurts some of the most underprivileged people in our community”. To pass Shorten’s private member’s bill, Labor would need 76 votes to pass through the house.
Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said voters were questioning the re-elected Turnbull government’s priorities. Though it seems unlikely the PM would cross the floor. These could come from the three members of the Nick Xenophon Team, and Derryn Hinch-who campaigned on a marriage equality platform, and has stated that he prefers a free vote over a plebiscite. Labor have 26, and there’s also a motley selection of 20 crossbenchers to contend with-a colourful political spectrum stretching from the Greens to One Nation.
The government will introduce its $6.5 billion budget fix bill, which scraps the renewable energy supplement for new welfare recipients, saving $1.4 billion over four years.
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While the government will be keen to get on with business, it appears likely Labor will test the narrow majority in the new parliament.
