Pyne says Coalition MPs won’t cross floor on marriage equality
Image: Christopher Pyne. Image: Facebook.
LIBERAL frontbencher Christopher Pyne has dismissed the idea that government MPs could cross the floor to bring about a parliamentary vote on marriage equality.
Appearing on Sky News, Pyne told Sky News host Samantha Maiden, “I’m not aware of anybody even contemplating that.”
Earlier this month, Liberal Senator Dean Smith said he was drafting a marriage equality bill to bring to debate later this year.
Smith, who crossed the floor to vote against the plebiscite legislation, is an advocate for a conscience vote.
In reference to the marriage equality plebiscite, Pyne said, “There is no proposal at the moment to change that policy.”
“We have a policy. It’s the policy to have a national vote, and the only person standing between marriage equality and Australians is Bill Shorten,” the Minister for Defence Industry said.
“If he decided to support a national vote, he could do it tomorrow. If he had decided to support it last year, we would have had a national vote in February, we could well have had marriage equality by now.”
Pyne’s interview comes in the wake of the new Guardian Essential poll showing 61 per cent support for the legislation of same-sex marriage.
The poll also showed 50 per cent support for a national vote which would be binding on parliament.
The plebiscite, as currently proposed, would not be a binding result.
23 per cent of respondents favoured a parliamentary vote, while 9 per cent preferred a national vote followed by a conscience vote.
The poll reaffirmed the trend of younger people showing higher support for marriage equality, with 81 per cent of 18-to-24 year olds in favour.
46 per cent of people over 65 also responded favourably.
Why, Oh Why are they flogging this dead horse?
The Plebiscite, whether we like it or not, is dead in the water for the ALP have refused to let the legislation pass in the Senate and there is no indication that they will change their minds.
From the very start this was nothing more than a con-job dreamt up by the arch-conservative, homophobic, failed Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He, dishonestly, promised it as a sop to the GLTBIQ Community because he would not (a) Allow the necessary legislation to change the Secular Australian Marriage Act so as to grant EQUALITY to all and (b) He would not allow Coalition MPs & Senators a Free Vote on the issue.
So Abbott promised this absurd Plebiscite knowing that it was little more than a Survey of the people which even if it had received 100% Support he, Tony Abbott, would obey the Roman Catholic Church and simply ignore the result.
Why Malcolm Turnbull sticks to this dishonest farce is beyond comprehension.
To have a conscience vote, you need to have a conscience.
This is typical polly code-speak. “I’m not aware” means “I’m pretending I know nothing so I don’t have to explain what I actually do know, and this way I don’t have to cop another Andrew Bolt tantie.”
Say what you will about Pyne, he does want the Libs to win the next election (and you can’t believe that’s true of the anti-Turnbull Liberals who, as it happens, are also the pro-plebiscite faction) and he knows this issue needs to be resolved and off the table by then for that to happen. Pyne is conscious that two other centre-right leaders in NZ’s John Key and the UK’s David Cameron were returned with increased majorities after marriage equality was achieved in those countries.