The legislation comes as a split in Government ranks emerges over funding opposing campaigns for a plebiscite, with one of the Turnbull Government’s strongest advocates for change arguing the competing sides on same-sex marriage don’t need public funding for their plebiscite arguments because most Australians have already made up their mind.
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“A plebiscite would represent a fundamental failure of this parliament to do its job”, Shorten said.
Speaking to parliament on Monday as he tabled the bill, Mr Shorten argued that MPs had a duty to legalise same-sex marriage as a right through a simple parliamentary vote and that the proposed plebiscite, which would not be binding on MPs regardless of the outcome, was uneccessary and risked dividing the nation.
This very morning, opposition leader Bill Shorten introduced a private member bill calling for marriage equality in Australia to the House of Representatives.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has introduced a same-sex marriage bill to Parliament and issued a challenge to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the issue: “Get this done”.
“For an issue this important, it’s unthinkable that two parties whose aim is providing long overdue marriage equality to Australia couldn’t work together to try and beat the backwards conservatives now holding sway in our parliament”.
The Turnbull government needs Labor’s support, with the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team committed to opposing it, and Victorian senator Derryn Hinch confirming in his maiden speech on Monday that he would do the same.
“If we all work together wedding bells could be sounding before Christmas this year”.
The Coalition remains divided over whether public funding should be provided for both sides of the campaign. “Any suggestion [public funding] was a decision or commitment made in the party room is absolutely wrong”, Entsch told ABC radio on Monday morning.
Cabinet has yet to decide whether any public money will be allocated to fund the “for” and “against” cases.
Liberal senator Eric Abetz warned cabinet not to “steamroll” the partyroom on the matter.
However much of the focus will be taken up by the first anniversary of Mr Turnbull’s ousting of former prime minister Tony Abbott, who has embarked on a media blitz.
“I invite Liberal and Labor MPs again to join as co-sponsors of this bill to achieve marriage equality”, he told parliament.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott proposed the same-sex marriage plebiscite just over a year ago when the issue was dividing Coalition MPs.
“These guys are all for fiscal discipline until they … want public money to be given to oppose marriage equality”, she told reporters in Canberra.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale previously said it was “likely” people would take their own lives if the plebiscite proceeded, and Labor has also been critical of the mental ill health that could be wrought by the campaign.
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“I wanted to flag my concern up front straight away that this idea that somehow you can have a proper plebiscite without funding for the “yes” and “no” cases would not be the sort of plebiscite that was envisaged by the party room when we decided on it”, he told AM.
