About 30 protesters have voiced their objection to the University of Tasmania hosting a Coalition for Marriage rally against same-sex marriage in Hobart.

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With senator Nick McKim among them, the protesters gathered a short distance from the Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre after rally goers had entered.

Their presence was somewhat of a surprise because earlier in the day a protest organised by UTAS students had been called off for want of a permit.

Organiser Briohny Walker said her group was not associated with the original planned protest but turned up because they believed the university was breaching its own charter.

"The methods and values of the Coalition for Marriage … are lacking academic and intellectual integrity and they have nothing to add to research and learning goals of the university," she said.

"We are angry about the symbolism of allowing views that have been disproven by university research access to university spaces.

"We reject the university's claim to neutrality and expect leadership on this issue.

"The integrity and safety of our academic spaces should not be for hire."

The University of Tasmania yesterday agreed to host the coalition's event at its Sandy Bay campus after initially rejecting the request.

The event proceeded as planned with Archbishop Julian Porteous opening the speeches followed by a video message of support from senator Eric Abetz.

UTAS vice-chancellor Pater Rathjen today wrote to staff and students stressing the university's impartiality on the same-sex marriage issue and that the rally was purely a "fee-for-venue hire agreement".

"In approving the application for this group to hire the Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre, the university is not signalling a position on marriage equality," he wrote.

Archbishop Julian Porteous kicked off the speeches followed by a video message from senator Eric Abetz. ( ABC News: Gregor Salmon )

"Our university believes that divergent views should be shared and tested, and that this should be done in a civil and respectful way.

"It is the responsibility of the university — especially in its role as the only university in the state — to encourage open dialogue on matters which are important to our community."

Rally struggled to secure a venue

The venue for the event was only secured on Thursday, after the planned location at Wrest Point Casino became unavailable due to management cancelling the booking.

Wrest Point management later confirmed they withdrew the venue the group's booking out of consideration for their staff who they said may have not been "comfortable" to working at the event.

The decision was slammed by one of the speakers booked for the event, Senator Cory Bernardi, who said the cancellation was "terrible business practice".

'No need to be afraid of LGBTQIA'

Ahead of the event, pro-same-sex-marriage campaigners set up a Facebook event to marshal their numbers, but cautioned against "violence and aggression" on the part of protesters towards attendees.

"Let's show them what love looks like with a peaceful protest!" the page said.

Karen Dickson will be MC for the Coalition for Marriage rally. ( ABC News: Gregor Salmon )

"Our aim is to outnumber the pro-inequality people, and to demonstrate that they don't need to be afraid of LGBTQIA people.

"Strictly no violence or aggression will be tolerated: this is a peaceful protest. Violence and aggression reflect badly on the movement, as well as being not OK in general."

But a subsequent post on the page said the protest had been cancelled because they could not secure a permit.

On Wednesday, the Coalition For Marriage's Tasmanian spokesperson Karen Dickson told ABC Radio Hobart she was puzzled by the casino's excuse for cancelling.

"I would find that an extraordinary response to suggest they couldn't serve people because of the event they are there for," she said.

"If you're a staff member of an organisation do we normally scan people for their beliefs before we serve them?"