Australian gov't plan for vote on gay marriage hits stumbling block

they don't need a vote - just change the law... a vote simply gives conservatives a means to scupper the result from the start - the same as they did with the vote on the republic

“We should never put questions of human rights to an opinion poll,”

Exactly. Turnbull doesn't want to hurt his party's leather patch brigade feelings. just pass a law ffs.

Sounds to me like a bunch of people who only believe in democracy when it suits them.

“We should never put questions of human rights to an opinion poll,”

But deciding who has the authority to send millions of people to their deaths in war is totally okay to vote on. What a farce.

sorry pc'ers but not everyone thinks gay marriage is a human right.

If they want to legalise it just pass a law. they won't put it to plebiscite because they think it might lose.

Fair enough outrider, "human right" is probably too strong. Perso i just think 2 consenting adults should be able to marry, whether they are gays, trans or hetero is anecdotal.

We elect a government, senate and parliament for a reason. That's their job to rule on this imo.

"sorry pc'ers but not everyone thinks gay marriage is a human right."

I'm not PC. Not everyone who thinks law-abiding citizens should be treated equally is PC.

goldorak, I think unless a govt is voted in with gay marriage on its stated agenda it does not have the right to pass it into law.

Outrider, the issue i have with the plebiscite is that it costs taxpayers $200m yet as xenophon says It's just a big opinion poll with no legal weight.

Ultimately the parliament will decide so why not use it in the first place? They represent all Australia, we voted for them.

"It's just a big opinion poll." ...one that would actually reflect the opinion of the nation. This is an issue that people feel strongly about on both sides. I for one would like to see this vote go ahead and the result acted on, whichever way it falls. We're looking at a redefinition of a core social institution.

goldorak, for most legislation i of course agree. but for something major like gay marriage I really think unless the party is elected with that on its stated agenda, passing it into legislation is not right.

Why is a vote needed? Just introduce a bill to parliament.

Absolutely this should just go to a vote in the parliament. End of story. Most Aussies (over 70 percent according to all the polls) support equal marriage rights for all - and equally the polls show most do not want to waste up to $250 Million on a non-binding plebiscite. Our Irish friends are telling us what pain such an unnecessary public campaign wreaks upon the LGBTQ community.

Legislate now, Canberra. The numbers are already there in parliament. Show some guts for once Mr. Turnbull and stop appeasing the extremist right-wing scum in your party room!

@goldorak The same could be said of Brexit, and look how bad that turned out.