A government frontbencher has confirmed that a private member’s bill on same-sex marriage will never come to a vote, as ministers continue sparring over how best to handle the issue.

The bill, put forward by Liberal-National backbencher Warren Entsch and co-sponsored by Labor’s Terri Butler, is expected to be introduced on Monday morning.

But the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has acknowledged the bill will never see the light of day.

“I don’t think the vote will come on for this bill,” Dutton told Channel Nine on Sunday. “There’s a process that needs to be gone through in relation to private member’s bills and the government’s made its position clear and that is we don’t want to deal with this bill now.”

Labor criticised the move.

“The reason that Warren Entsch’s bill won’t come on is because the prime minister [Tony Abbott] is stopping it coming on,” the deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, told Channel Nine.



A number of Liberal backbenchers have threatened to cross the floor if the matter does come to a vote. Abbott said that while they are entitled to do so, he “would be disappointed if they went against the party position”.

The issue of same-sex marriage has dominated headlines since the Coalition decided to reject a free vote on the matter on Tuesday. More than 90 MPs spoke on the subject, with the vast majority rejecting a free vote.

Abbott has pledged to let voters decide on the issue through a public vote, but on Sunday would not be drawn on whether he preferred a plebiscite or a referendum on the matter.

“The important thing is that it will be a people’s decision – that’s the point,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

The prime minister ruled out holding a public vote on the same day as the next federal election.

“I think the people should be able to consider this in its own right,” Abbott said. “Millions of people in our community have strong views one way or another on this and why shouldn’t we be able to debate this and decide this in its own right without being distracted by the sorts of arguments which you inevitably get during an election campaign?”

Shortly after Abbott’s press conference, the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, tweeted a link to his blog. In it, he set out why he thought a plebiscite should be held before the next election.

As many of my constituents have asked me about the SSM plebiscite issue I have posted this blog. http://t.co/SLQjxb8WWj — Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) August 16, 2015

“My own view for what it is worth is that it would be better if same-sex marriage were not a contentious issue at the next election – there are sincere, conscientious differences of opinion throughout the community and on both sides of the political divide and issues like this are better dealt with outside of the frenzied hurly burly of an election campaign,” Turnbull wrote. “Important though the matter is, every day talking about same-sex marriage will distract from the Coalition’s core messages.”

The debate about whether to hold a referendum or a non-binding plebiscite on same-sex marriage has revealed bitter divisions within the Liberal party, with the attorney general, George Brandis, being the latest to throw a salvo in the very public spat.

On Sunday Brandis told Sky News the government needed to settle on a model once and for all. “I’m not sure it will happen at the cabinet meeting scheduled for tomorrow, but I do agree and expect that this is a decision that the government should make very soon,” he said.

Opponents of same-sex marriage are pushing for a referendum, which requires a higher threshold to pass.

Brandis has shot down suggestions of a referendum, saying it is unnecessary because the constitution does not define marriage and therefore does not require a referendum to be changed, but he is not opposed to taking the matter to the people.



“I’m satisfied with what we’ve achieved as long as there is a plebiscite,” he said. “I am perfectly happy with that outcome.”

He wants a plebiscite to be compulsory, acknowledging that voters will not appreciate having to go to the polls straight after a federal election.

“I can see the desirability of having the matter out of the way,” he said. “The public will be a little weary, I think, of being taken to the ballot box twice in 12 months.”



But the attorney general said he was “disinclined” to pair the same-sex marriage vote with a referendum on recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution, which he said had an “emotional significance” for society.

The justice minister, Michael Keenan, would not be drawn on what model he would prefer but said last week’s joint party meeting meeting signalled the end of the matter.

“Same-sex marriage has taken up a lot of oxygen,” he told the conservative commentator, Andrew Bolt, on Sunday. “I think you’ll find when we return to parliament tomorrow that the government will continue to focus on the things that we think are important for the future of Australia.”

The debate about same-sex marriage has seen cabinet ministers openly attack each other and has once again put the spotlight on Abbott’s leadership.

Leaks of the prime minister’s text messages, as reported by News Corp on Sunday, show Abbott knew the backbencher and same-sex marriage advocate Warren Entsch would raise the matter on Tuesday morning.

Abbott reportedly told the party room that he did not know that the question of a free vote on same-sex marriage would be brought up. “All I am going to say is there was nothing I did he didn’t know about,’’ Entsch told News Corp.

Moderates in the Liberal party have warned that same-sex marriage will overshadow the government’s policy messages and could result in voter backlash.



The leader of the Victorian branch of the Liberal party, Matthew Guy, criticised the federal branch’s decision to reject a free vote, warning that it is “poisoning the well of good will for all other elected politicians in the country”.

The Victorian Liberal powerbroker, Michael Kroger, has denied there is a rift between him and Abbott’s chief of staff, Peta Credlin, after reports he had slapped down questions on why Guy had made such scathing comments.

Kroger rejected suggestions the text message interchange with Credlin showed that party members were openly contemptuous of the prime minister’s office.

“Is there an argument with Peta? No,” Kroger told Bolt. “I’m good friends with her. She sent me texts asking why the state leaders are getting involved in a national issue. I said Matthew has a very strong view about it.”

Brandis also denied that Abbott’s leadership had been weakened by the bruising internal debate about same-sex marriage being played out in the public arena.

“I don’t think there is a leadership question. We resolved that in February and I don’t expect it to re-emerge,” he said. “It was a boisterous week, there’s no doubt about that, but the suggestion of disarray is, with all due respect, nonsense.”