Ewen Jones, the Liberal member for the seat of Herbert, has said that he will cross the floor to support marriage equality.
Mr Jones is the fifth coalition MP to announce that he will vote against party policy if the legislation makes it to a vote. His declaration follows those of Wyatt Roy, Warren Entsch, Teresa Gambaro and Senator Dean Smith.
Hailing from Queensland, Mr Jones’ seat in the north of the state covers Townsvile.
Mr Jones told the ABC that if the government pushes for a constitutional referendum of this issue of marriage equality it will look like the government wants to see the proposal fail.
“If we go down the line that we want to change the constitution that is a sign that we are actively trying to block this and we want it to fail,” Mr Jones said.
The MP posted a message to his constituents on his Facebook page explaining his decision.
“My reason is that I have been married twice. I married neither because I respected the institution of marriage, nor because I thought my prospective bride would be a good mother and parent.
“I asked them to marry me because I loved them and wanted to spend my life with them. No other reason mattered. How can you deny that to others because of their sexuality.” Mr Jones said.
OIP Staff
