Fairfax Media revealed last week a plebiscite could be “self-executing”, without the need for a subsequent parliamentary vote, under a possible compromise proposal to win Labor’s backing.
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Australians would vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage in a compulsory plebiscite on February 11, 2017, under a plan being taken to cabinet on Monday evening.
The same $500,000 cap that was an “iron clad” commitment for Turnbull and his Treasurer during the election campaign, where both were peppered with questions about changing the cap but were then not for turning.
A campaign to allow same-sex marriage in Australia looks set to stall as political parties squabble over whether to give voters a say on the matter.
“For our part, we put our faith in the Australian people”, the Prime Minister said.
Liberal-National MP and gay marriage advocate Warren Entsch has warned the plebiscite “won’t get up” if taxpayers’ money is used to fund the “for” and “against” cases.
The ACL has previously called for public funding to match the amount provided in the 1999 referendum on the republic, which would translate to over $11 million for each side adjusted for inflation today.
“It’s clear the extreme right wing of the Liberal party are setting marriage equality up to fail”.
Malcolm Turnbull has introduced same-sex marriage plebiscite in parliament.
Since it looks like the marriage equality plebiscite won’t be going ahead, we chose to update our article explaining what this means for reform in Australia.
If Labor does block the plebiscite plan, there’s not alternative timeframe for the introduction of marriage equality in Australia.
The chances of Australians having their say on same-sex marriage are fading rapidly after strong hints from the main opposition party that it’ll block the vote.
The fate of the plebiscite ultimately rests in Labor’s hands, and yesterday Opposition Leader Bill Shorten appeared to strengthen his argument against the vote.
“We know that their answer, whether it be “yes” or “no”, will be the right answer”, Mr Turnbull said. McKenzie is against same-sex marriage and was asked, along with the rest of the panel, whether a nationwide vote on the issue is worth the cost and potential emotional and mental health outcomes which would likely befall the LGBTQ community.
“Putting the question of marriage equality to a national vote, risks providing a platform for prejudice and a megaphone for hate-speech”, he said.
The Prime Minister and Attorney-General George Brandis have both appealed to Labor to back the plebiscite bill.
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“We are not just falling behind the rest of the world – 21 countries who we consider our legal, cultural and social peers – have already moved ahead of us”, he said. Unfortunately for Abbott, he was rolled out of the Prime Ministership a month later by Malcolm Turnbull.
