Nick Xenophon says he could side with opposition if it made the call to block the enabling legislation for plebiscite

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Labor senator Lisa Singh and Rainbow Labor co-convenor Louise Pratt have called on the ALP to block the same-sex marriage plebiscite in a bid to pass marriage equality through a free parliamentary vote.

The internal push within Labor to block the plebiscite comes ahead of talks on Thursday between Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten about a range of looming issues in the new parliament – including the marriage equality plebiscite.



As well as the push within Labor, a key parliamentary kingmaker, Nick Xenophon, has also signalled he could side with the opposition if it made the call to block the enabling legislation for the plebiscite.

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Xenophon told Guardian Australia on Wednesday he remained of the view that the plebiscite was little more than the “world’s most expensive opinion poll”.

“I’d rather see that money being spent on suicide prevention in regional areas,” Xenophon said. “I think the parliament should decide this. I’m yet to be convinced of the need for a plebiscite.”

The renewed political push against the plebiscite comes after the veteran gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome quit as Australian Marriage Equality national director on Tuesday to lobby the Senate to block the plebiscite.

Pratt, who won a Senate seat in Western Australia at the 2016 election after losing her spot in the 2014 re-run election, told Guardian Australia she was “firmly of the view that we should be doing everything we can to stop the plebiscite”.

Asked if this included blocking plebiscite enabling legislation, Pratt said: “Yes, everything.

“Even with a plebiscite, the substantive question of legalising same-sex marriage is still one that needs to be resolved by parliament. The plebiscite is an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and expense.”

Pratt noted Croome’s departure to work with Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays Australia and Just Equal, two groups that advocate blocking the plebiscite, and said it showed “a growing appetite for stopping it”.

Singh, who was re-elected in Tasmania off the back of a below-the-line campaign despite being dropped in Labor’s candidate order, said she did not accept the plebiscite as the way to achieve marriage equality.

“It’s a waste of money, it’s unnecessary and parliament should decide,” she said. “I’m not for the plebiscite, so I naturally feel we shouldn’t be supporting it.

“If we take a position as a caucus I’d argue in the caucus we should block it. If it’s a conscience vote, I would be standing against it.”

Singh said she respected LGBTI groups including Australian Marriage Equality who “embrace both approaches” and both oppose the plebiscite but are preparing for a yes campaign.

“But personally I cannot support a process I believe to be unnecessary,” she said. “I certainly haven’t given up on parliament deciding marriage equality.”

Labor plans to bring a private member’s bill on marriage equality when parliament returns but has not committed to block the plebiscite enabling legislation.

Shorten has said Labor would not accept the “grubby deal” between Turnbull and conservatives for a plebiscite, but Labor has refused to say whether it would vote against the enabling legislation.

The shadow assistant minister for equality, Terri Butler, told Guardian Australia parliament should decide marriage equality.

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“I don’t know if can be any clearer: we want a free vote,” she said. “A plebiscite is a terrible idea, it’s harmful, it’s bad for families, it’s expensive, it’s wasteful.”

Butler has previously said: “I will do whatever I can do to avoid a plebiscite.”

She said the government had to “come clean” and bring forward legislation for the proposed plebiscite, which she said was a “sop to the right” designed to prevent marriage equality becoming a reality.

When asked about Croome’s decision to leave AME and his assessment blocking the plebiscite would increase pressure for a free vote, Butler said: “People like me would serve the community best by getting a free vote.”

The attorney general, George Brandis, has said he will bring a cabinet submission on the plebiscite in coming weeks.

The government is yet to receive advice from the Australian Electoral Commission about the conduct of the plebiscite due to the extended count for the senate.

Key details including the wording, public funding and discrimination law exemptions advocated by the Australian Christian Lobby have not yet been determined.