Michael McCormack is the latest MP to speak out about the possibility of a free vote after a plebiscite on same-sex marriage. McCormack has stated that he will vote with the national consensus even if that puts him at odds with the people of his electorate.
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“What’s the point of holding a plebiscite if members of parliament vote the way they were going to vote anyway?” he said.
What’s the point indeed? Regardless of a free vote or not, a plebiscite is a terrible way of approaching the question of same-sex marriage.
Almost all polling data suggests that a majority of Australians support same-sex marriage. A tide of progressiveness on this issue has swept across the Western world in the last decade. Australia is yet to be caught up by it but it is inevitable that we will be.
Even if the people vote against same-sex marriage in the suggested plebiscite it’s inconceivable that Australia will not have same-sex marriage within five years.
The government plans on spending $160 million to ask a question that already has an answer. Hold a Facebook poll or ask the question on Twitter, it’ll achieve the same result and save the $160 million.
Another glaring issue with the government’s approach to same-sex marriage is the proposed free vote after the fact.
This would allow MPs to disregard the will of the people in their electorates and vote with their conscience. As McCormack pointed out, a free vote would undermine an already pointless plebiscite. By allowing a free vote, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull panders to the highly conservative members of his party.
Mr Turnbull’s concession to conservative LNP members has been noted and widely criticised. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has called out the Prime Minister and urged him to “stand up to those in your party room who do not represent a fair and modern country” in an open letter penned to Mr Turnbull on Monday.
If you’re going to pander to certain members of the party room don’t waste $160 million before doing it. If you’re going to allow a free vote after a plebiscite why hold a plebiscite in the first place? Just table a bill in Parliament and allow your MPs to conscience vote there. Whatever your stance on same-sex marriage, it’s clear that the government has got it wrong.