Liberal Democrats Senator Leyonhjelm says freedom to marry is likely to be put back years unless a plebiscite occurs.
Senator Leyonhjelm, who introduced his own freedom to marry bill to the Senate in 2014, says the Government has made it clear there will be no free vote if there is no plebiscite. He says the Greens should rethink their position because it is far from clear that a plebiscite would be approved by nine out of 11 Senate crossbenchers.
“I would rather the parliament just passed the legislation without a plebiscite, but it is apparent that under current circumstances it is now the quickest path to same sex marriage. My concern is for the thousands of people who want to marry. For their sake, our job now should be on getting it passed. Arguments about the ideal process and symbolic posturing are not helping.”
Senator Leyonhjelm said the Greens should be concerned that conservatives are cheering them on.
“I gave them an opportunity to vote for their own same sex marriage bill in the previous parliament, during the debate on Senate voting reform. They voted with the government to gag debate, giving the lie to their claim that they vote ‘every MP, every vote, every time’ in support.
“If it’s left to the Greens, Saudi Arabia will have marriage equality before we do.”
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Contact Gavin Atkins at Senator Leyonhjelm’s office on 0448 164 844.
