Attorney-General George Brandis has faced calls to resign after Labor accused him of misleading Parliament. Credit:Fairfax Media Tax deductible donations to each committee would be capped at $1500, though anybody would be free to donate to other campaign entities such as Australians 4 Equality or church groups. Coalition MPs debated the plebiscite proposal - including the question and the provision of public funding - at a joint Liberal and National party room meeting on Tuesday. It came as Labor slammed leaked details of the cabinet proposal, labelling the plan a product of the party's right wing, and raising fears the plebiscite will fail to pass the Senate. Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said the provision of $7.5 million for the "no" side would lead to "appalling abuse" of public funds, and indicated Labor was now more inclined to block the plebiscite in the Senate.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus warns public financing of the "no" campaign will lead to an "appalling abuse" of public funds". Credit:Andrew Meares "The wording of the question is the idea of the right-wing of the Liberal Party, the public funding of the 'no' campaign is the idea of the right wing of the Liberal Party," he said. "This idea that there should be public funding of the 'no' campaign is something that takes this plebiscite even further away from something that Labor could support." Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton has indicated the "no" side would use taxpayer funds to campaign on issues unrelated to the definition of marriage such as the Safe Schools program. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Cabinet's approval of $15 million in public funding was a blow for moderate Liberals who wanted the campaigns to pay their own way, but less than what conservatives were demanding.

The proposed question - "Do you support a change in the law to allow same-sex couples to marry?" - was generally perceived as fair by moderate and conservative Liberals who spoke to Fairfax Media on Tuesday morning. Former Liberal frontbencher Kevin Andrews said the question "seems relatively neutral" but wanted more taxpayer money for both sides. "$7.5 million was what was provided for the constitutional referendum in 1999," he said. "There's probably been a bit of inflation since then." A Liberal MP supportive of same-sex marriage said the "compromise option" adopted by cabinet had a good chance of being approved by the party room, but would likely struggle when it came to a vote in the Senate. "I can't see a path for it. I would be surprised if it got through," the MP told Fairfax Media. Warren Entsch made similar comments on Monday, warning that a plebiscite that included public funding "won't get up". To that end, deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said the leaked details had worsened Labor's concerns about the proposed plebiscite rather than allayed them.

And shadow foreign minister Penny Wong described the proposal as a "capitulation" by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to the Coalition's conservatives. "I don't know why the moderates keep negotiating with these people who hold very hard views," she said. Labor would kill off the plebiscite if it blocks the bill in the Senate, with the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and Derryn Hinch all committed to voting it down. A Liberal source supportive of same-sex marriage said his colleagues were not thrilled about the middle-of-the-road resolution on public funding, but nor were they outraged. "There are people who are disappointed and think it's not sufficient," the MP said. "There's probably a similar size group of colleagues who would have preferred that it be less or nothing." Meanwhile, Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton - one of the few high-profile "no" campaign leaders willing to give public interviews - described $7.5 million for each side as "on the low side". He had been asking for $15 million apiece, fearing the "no" side would struggle against "a big influx of overseas money" to the "yes" campaign.

Mr Shelton controversially indicated the "no" side would use taxpayer funds to campaign on issues unrelated to the definition of marriage, such as the Safe Schools program and gender-diverse education. "It will go towards airing the concerns of a whole range of consequences that flow from taking gender out of marriage," he told ABC radio on Tuesday. Loading Mr Dreyfus said that would constitute "appalling abuse" of public funds. "Safe Schools has nothing to do with the cause of marriage equality in Australia," he said. Follow us on Twitter