Looks like the much-maligned same-sex marriage plebiscite is likely no more. Bill Shorten, after slamming the Government’s planned poll for several weeks but offering no concrete advice on whether Labor would actually oppose, is expected to instruct caucus to block the bill.
This’ll be huge for the LGBTI advocates who have constantly opposed the plebiscite, arguing that the proposed publicly-funded campaign would be devastating to queer youth forced to hear the constant thrum of hate speech during the campaign. A popular video from Nic Kelly outlined many of the concerns LGBTI Australians had:
I am really scared about the #marriageequalityaus plebiscite. We need to talk about it, so I made this video. ?? pic.twitter.com/4oZTifuzil
— ?? nic kelly ?? (@nicwkelly) September 13, 2016
Most LGBTIA Australians were willing to give up a big opportunity for same-sex marriage to be passed because of the expected hostility of the debate, so that’s a pretty big deal.
#BREAKING: Sky News understands Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will recommend to Labor caucus that it reject the marriage plebiscite.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 14, 2016
The difficulty here is that the Coalition will likely not offer a free vote – which could very likely pass – because of pressure from the hard-right of the party.
If the reports are true, and Shorten really is planning to block the plebiscite, then the Coalition will not have the crossbench votes necessary to pass the legislation. The plebiscite, for now, is effectively dead.
Source: The Guardian.
Photo: Getty Images / Mark Metcalfe.
