The LGBTQI community and marriage equality advocates celebrate the yes vote. Credit:Anna Kucera As a new member of the Senate the question often put by media or university students was, "Why are you a Liberal?" There are two reasons of equal value. First, Labor was anti-business, anti-profit. As governments get their revenue to do good things from taxes on salaries and profits that just seemed dumb. Second, individual freedoms are what we should be seeking to maximise. Better you decide how to spend your money than have Canberra take it in tax and decide for you. It's always a balance, but the individual having freedom rather than the collective making decisions is my preference. Gay marriage is about individuals being able to do what they want without hurting others. The idea first settled in my mind when Roy Fitzhenry​, a then senior lecturer in anthropology, raised it in the late 1970s. He asked what harm would be done if he could marry his partner? Wouldn't it build a stronger society if more people were able to commit to each other?

Malcolm Turnbull found a way forward on same-sex marriage. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Every change has its time. It just wouldn't have happened in the 1970s or 1980s. Parliament can move ahead of public opinion, but not by much. The facts are that for all Labor's talk, nothing, absolutely nothing, happened in the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd years: 2007 to 2013. The near 40 per cent "no" vote is not inconsequential but it does not tell us that the 40 per cent are either far-right conservatives or religious people. I know people who voted no who are not in any way religious, far right or homophobes. They, in each case, voted no for different reasons. Surprisingly, at an over-the-counter chat in my bookshop a gay man revealed he very nearly voted no. Everyone is entitled to their view. Penny Wong is a passionate supporter but her voting record doesn't demonstrate that. Ditto buckets of Labor members. Some of the no vote may just be where those Labor members were a few years ago.

Tony Abbott did everything he could to stop it. When Malcolm Turnbull tried to implement the Abbott imposed policy of a referendum it was rejected in the Senate. Labor opposed you having your say. Conservatives, wedded to a plebiscite, nonetheless found the postal survey compromise, allowing Turnbull to push ahead. Labor was less helpful and opposed it again. Instead of working constructively to get gay marriage, through the government of the day, Labor chose to attack Turnbull for not being able to make all his party agree. They don't all agree and it would be stupidity to deny it. Those differences are in the community. Acknowledging differences is the Liberal Party's greatest strength. Sadly it is often portrayed by opponents as a weakness. Even the Equality campaign fought against the postal survey. You have to ask why. The allegations of just how nasty Australia was and how horrible the campaign would be were insulting and proved, with a few exceptions on both sides, incorrect.

Turnbull was prepared to keep at it. With a swamp of different opinions around and despite the straitjacket in which Abbott had tied the Liberal Party, Turnbull stuck with it. We've had the debate and the survey. We've got a clear result and Parliament now has to do it. With such a huge response and a clear majority in both numbers and seats, how could they not? That's all been achieved with not support, but opposition from Labor. Plenty of members who were going to vote no in Parliament will now vote yes, respecting Australia's wishes. At the announcement I couldn't help but be genuinely moved. There are few moments when a nation gets, and takes, the chance to speak so clearly about the direction in which they want to go. Penny Wong's emotion and relief was understandable. From the media coverage you might think Wong was the hero in all this. Excuse me? What about Dean Smith, Tim Wilson, Trent Zimmerman and Warren Entsch? They, and others, are the people that got their government to get this up. No doubt Wong and others wish they had. Could have, would have, should have … Didn't.

Shorten was behaving as a victor when as the man with the numbers he didn't push Labor to it in government. More Labor seats than Liberal ones voted no. Many Liberal seats voted a resounding yes. The vote, especially in Warringah and Menzies, might finally get the message across to the likes of Abbott and Kevin Andrews. They are not mainstream and they are not the base of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party of course has strong conservatives but they are not the base. What you see in the Smith, Zimmerman, Wilson and Entsch coterie is the Liberal Party I joined, where everyone is welcome to argue for their personal view. Turnbull recognises this critical point about the Liberal Party. Abbott's way was to ride roughshod over the differences and impose his view. Remember the undemocratic captain's picks? Turnbull's is to find a way forward together, acknowledging the differences. This is the Liberal Party I joined. Amanda Vanstone is a Fairfax Media columnist and a former Coalition minister.