Prime Minister Tony Abbott has defended the coalition’s decision to not allow a conscience vote on marriage equality saying that marriage is between a man and a woman but has also suggested that a plebiscite might be a possibility in the future.
Mr Abbott said that it was important that the party maintained the policy that it took to the election so that people who voted for them didn’t feel “dudded”.
Mr Abbott said the Liberal party would maintain its current policy for the remainder of the term of this government.
Mr Abbott said that heading into the next election that government would revisit the policy and might put it to the people, but at this stage the parties position ahead of the next election was undecided.
In a pitch to both side of the argument the Prime Minister said the government there was no easy answer on the question of marriage equality.
“If you support the existing definition of marriage between a man and a woman, the coalition is absolutely on your side, but if you’d like to see change at someplace, at sometime in the future, the coalition is prepared to make that potentially possible, but the disposition is that it should happen through a people’s vote than simply through a parliaments vote.” Mr Abbott told reporters. Â
Describing a possible way forward the Prime Minister said that a future Liberal government may choose to take the debate to the public for their vote.
“There is a path forward. I’m not saying that the coalition’s position is set in stone for all time. What I’m saying is that in the next term of government the coalition disposition is to provide a potential way forward, if by way forward it be, by putting it to the people and what that will mean is the focus of debate on this particular subject will no longer be members of parliament, but the focus of debate on this particular subject should really be the Australian people as a whole.” Mr Abbott said.
“This will be something for the protagonists on either side to take to the public, to make their case to the public and I think that’s a good thing.”
The Prime Minister’s comment came after Liberal and Nationals MPs held a marathon six hour meeting to decide whether or not they would allow members to have a conscience vote on marriage equality. The MPs overwhelmingly voted 66 to 33 to maintain the status quo.
It has been revealed however that the ratio of Liberal MPs in favour of a conscience vote was much closer. Earlier in the day it was reported that Education Minister Christopher Pyne had accused the PM of “branch-stacking” the meeting by inviting The Nationals in.
Mr Abbott said the topic of marriage had a long and contentious issue in society, and that while the Labor party had changed it’s position the Liberal party had promised to maintain the traditional view of marriage at the last election.
“Never the less, I accept that this is not just like any other policy that the coalition might adopt from time to time, it is deeply personal, very deeply personal, it is a subject that on which decent people can differ, and it is a subject on which people can differ inside political parties.” Mr Abbott said.
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So in other words, he wants a plebiscite in which the “peoples” vote could be ignored, as a plebiscite is not a binding vote. He says this when he could have allowed a free vote in which all Coalition senators and members of parliament could have voted freely on the issue without any threat to their ministerial position and or party membership. Tony Abbott, do not take us for fools, we are not fools, but you sir, are a fool for thinking we would fall for such a pathetic argument.