Labor leader draws parallels with Brexit referendum but prime minister says he’ll stay focused on the economy and won’t trade personal attacks

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, has accused prime minister Malcolm Turnbull of being a hostage to conservative factions in his party over marriage equality, drawing parallels with the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and David Cameron’s resignation.

On Saturday Shorten said Turnbull “didn’t believe” in holding a plebiscite for marriage equality, and was being compelled to do so by the right of his party.

The gamble was likened by Shorten to the United Kingdom’s dramatic exit from the European Union on Thursday, which saw British prime minister David Cameron’s resignation. Cameron had staked considerable political capital on the view that the “remain” vote would succeed, similar to Turnbull’s assurances that a marriage equality plebiscite would succeed.

Shorten said: “what we are seeing is the same thing we saw in the United Kingdom. David Cameron didn’t want the referendum about leaving Europe, but he was forced to do it by the right wing of his party.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison at a news conference in Sydney on Saturday. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

“In Australia, we’ve got Malcolm Turnbull – he doesn’t believe in a plebiscite on marriage equality. He doesn’t even want it to bind his party members. He’s being forced to do it by the right wing of his party.”

Turnbull responded to the comments saying: “This is a day and a time when Australians expect their leaders to focus on the economy, focus on their jobs, focus on their future. If Mr Shorten wants to engage in personal attacks then he can do so but I won’t be trading them with him.”

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With regards to the Brexit vote, Turnbull said there was “no need or cause for alarm” immediately to Australia, but acknowledged there would be volatility.

“An event like this does raise the level of uncertainty and does undermine, to some extent, investor confidence. The critical thing for Australians to understand, however, is that our economy is strong,” he said.



Shorten’s comments follow a report in Fairfax Media that there were moves within the Coalition to stymie the plebiscite by permitting some MPs not to support a marriage equality bill in the event that the plebiscite succeeded but a majority in their individual electorates did not vote in favour of it. The attorney general, George Brandis, issued a release on Saturday that said the report was false.

But Brandis has previously delayed a cabinet decision that would set out the particular details of the plebiscite, in part because of contentions over whether the Australian Electoral Commission would provide a count for the plebiscite on a electorate by electorate basis.

If the AEC counted the vote by electorate it would pave the way for Coalition MPs to decline to support a bill if their electorates did not vote in favour it. Some Coalition MPs have already signalled they plan to do so.

Turnbull has committed to holding a plebiscite before the end of 2016 if he is re-elected. But the terms of the plebistic have become an increasingly fraught political issue.

On Friday, Turnbull confirmed the outcome of the plebiscite would not be binding on Coalition MPs votes, effectively permitting them a conscience vote on the issue.

Labor does not support holding a plebistice, and has committed to legislating to allow same sex marriage if elected.

As the intensity of the campaign heats up in its final week, Turnbull will be focusing on the Liberal party launch in the inner-western Sydney seat of Reid on Sunday.



The seat is among six marginal seats fresh polling shows the Liberal party could retain in NSW – including Dobell on the central coast, plus the western Sydney seats of Banks, Gilmore and Lindsay.

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The prime minister and the treasurer, Scott Morrison, held a joint press conference on Saturday urging voters to back the Coalition’s plan for the economy at next week’s election, warning uncertainty would remain for years as the terms of the UK’s departure were finalised.

Morrison said he had since spoken with Treasury, the Reserve Bank and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as well as the chief executives of Australia’s big banks.

Australia’s financial system was strong enough to weather the Brexit storm, but a vote for the Coalition on 2 July was crucial to make sure it stayed that way, he said.

“Markets can never have certainty soon enough but the Australian people can have certainty next Saturday,” Morrison said.



He said banks in Australia and overseas had been well prepared for the highly anticipated referendum while regulators at home and abroad had taken necessary precautions to stress-test financial institutions.



“It is important that we take every opportunity to remind Australians and to remind those further afield of the strength of Australia’s banking and financial system.”

Australian Associated Press contributed to this story