Allowing free vote on marriage equality will help Abbott rebuild: AME
ADVOCATES have urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to grant the Coalition a conscience vote on marriage equality in order to rebuild his leadership status.
The calls comes in the wake of a failed Coalition party room motion to replace Abbott as PM, and polls indicating his government’s increasing lack of popularity.
Yesterday, Abbott survived the leadership spill motion against him, which failed to pass with 61 votes in his favour to 39.
Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome said if Abbott gave his party a conscience vote on marriage equality, he could “reconnect with his party and the electorate”.
“It will show he is listening to the electorate and tolerates dissent in his Party,” Croome said.
“It will also show he keeps his promises, given he said before the election that he’ll allow the Liberal Party room to decide on a conscience vote.”
According to Australian Marriage Equality, 72 per cent of Australians support marriage equality but, in the absence of a free vote, Coalition members who support it cannot vote for it.
Meanwhile, Senator David Leyonhjelm has indicated he could block government legislation unless Abbott allowed a conscience vote on his Freedom to Marry bill, which he introduced to Federal Parliament in November.
The Labor party already has a conscience vote on marriage equality, while the Greens have stated they were the “strongest supporters” of it.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek also has a marriage equality bill in the works, but it waiting for a Coalition conscience vote before she introduces it to parliament.
A similar proposal was put forward by former Labor MP Stephen Jones in 2012, but it was voted down by the House of Representatives, 98 to 42.
VOTE IN OUR POLL: Can marriage equality support help rebuild Tony Abbott’s leadership?
Tony Abbott is a cunt!
hes full of lies
No. I don’t want him to rebuild. I don’t want to ever see this Government grow in strength. They are too dangerous for the prosperity of this country. If that means I have to wait for marriage equality, then I’m more than happy to wait.
Abbott an idiot
What we really need to campaign for is for the dumping of Abbott asap. His party are already fairly keen on the idea, so we could help it along. Why would we bother talking about sucking up to him, to try to talk him into doing something he’s been fighting against for years, when it’d be best if he was just gone for good? And if they don’t ditch him, and fix a whole bunch of their crappy policies including marriage equality – it’s just more good reasons to vote them out.
I’m all for it but it won’t make jack difference.
Worked for Tony Blair
Even if the Liberal Party were to allow a conscience vote and it passed I wouldn’t give them in kudos for it next round I cast my vote.
Ooo I feel all creepy!
Abbott is as fucked as a gay boy on the gbh at ark on a Monday morning!!!!! I agree with same sex marriages and equality but Abbott has hung himself
He could take the politics out of it and put it to a referendum?
I see ALL LNP members are constrained by the same bigotry & ideas that Abbott openly displays
Tony Abbott could come out as gay and make marriage equality their central platform but would still lose the next election due to all their other regressive policies.
Voting for the LNP on this one issue would be extremely selfish as their other policies hurt too many others. Marriage Equality will come and it will never define how I vote
He may do it cos he’s at clutching at straws time, but it wont help him. We should happily sit back and watch them allow and take the vote, and then even more happily watch as they toss him out anyway
He’s terminal. He could offer to recognize inter-species marriage and only get a slight bump in they polls. Mainly from penguins and seals.
for gods sake…this is such a disgusting thought! Please don’t use me as a GAY man in this absolute nonsense! We as individuals should have that right anyway! Beginning to think you gay lot have lost the plot as much ad the current government!
Pls let the homophobe be gone in the next election
He has a gay sister so he should be all for it…
Just shows how deep his bigotry is.
That dog needs to get the fck out.
No! He needs to do it as a decent human which he is in capable of.
You seriously think rebuilding his leadership is a good thing?? Ha
Nothing will save him. Just confirms he has no principles.