The membership of the Tasmanian Liberal Party State Council voted on Saturday to keep opposition to allowing same-sex couples to marry as part of its official platform, in a move that has been labelled retrograde by supporters of equality for LGBTI people.

The motion voted on at the state party’s annual conference was in support of keeping the current definition of marriage in the federal Marriage Act and was passed ‘on the voices’ without a count of hands.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended the conference and gave a speech but did not reference the issue of same-sex marriage – though he is on the record as being an opponent.

He has said that he will allow his party room in the Australian Parliament to decide whether his MPs get a conscience vote on the issue but the vote by the Tasmanian branch of the party will make it less likely that any Australian Government MPs or senators representing Tasmania will vote in favor of same-sex marriage if a bill comes before parliament again.

Australian Marriage Equality (AME) national director and Tasmanian native Rodney Croome said it was sad to see his state’s Liberal Party branch so out of step with the views of a majority of Tasmanians.

‘At a time when countries like the UK and the US are moving forward on marriage equality it is shameful that the Tasmanian Liberal Party wants to take us backwards,’ Croome said.

‘The majority of Tasmanians who support marriage equality will be appalled that the Liberal Party has upheld discrimination in one of our core social and legal institutions.’

The Tasmanian Liberals’ action was also slammed by Australian Greens leader Senator Christine Milne – herself a former leader of the Tasmanian state Greens party.

‘They want to take us back to discrimination … and as far away as possible from equal opportunity,’ she said, according to AAP, on Sunday.