EDITORIAL

Same-sex marriage plebiscite stalemate opens way for free vote

Australia's tortuous path to allowing same-sex couples to marry has become absurd to the point of surreal.

High-ranking members of the Coalition government met Labor counterparts on Monday to discuss the marriage plebiscite, an ill-conceived proposal The Age describes as one of the more ridiculous and cynical ideas to emerge from our polity.

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The same sex marriage divide is bigger than ever after Attorney General George Brandis invited Labor's Mark Dreyfus to try reach a plebiscite compromise. Courtesy ABC news 24.

Unsurprisingly, no agreement was reached, and it looks highly likely Labor will oppose the enabling legislation, which means, unless crossbench senators change their view, the bill will not pass the upper house. As we have consistently argued, the bill should indeed be blocked, and the Parliament should do what it is elected to do – honour its constitutional duty to legislate.

Consider these realities:

According to pollsters, as many as seven in 10 citizens have long wanted our lawmakers to do their job and bring Australia in line on this with the rest of the English-speaking world.
The leaders of the Coalition, Labor and the Greens all support marriage equality.
The voters of all but one electorate want their political representatives to make the change.
Australians – whose collective support for ending this injustice has long-been recorded – would be forced to vote, but their decision would not be binding on lawmakers.
The plebiscite – effectively an unnecessary opinion poll – would cost taxpayers perhaps more than $200 million, a waste rendered even more stupid in light of our fiscal challenges.
The plebiscite could cause untold harm to same-sex couples and their families, and could be a trigger for self-harm and even worse for young LGBTI people, who, research shows, suffer heightened rates of mental ill-health because of the bullying and harassment they are subjected to because of their sexuality.
There is already evidence that opponents of marriage equality will use misinformation and propaganda, even to the point of targeting children, and emotions could cloud reason on both sides of the debate.
The plebiscite – designed to delay and derail marriage equality – was always a cheap ruse by Tony Abbott to shore up support from the hardline conservative fringe in his party in the dying moments of his prime ministership.

Given all of that, perhaps the most bizarre element of the entire mess is the premise that Malcolm Turnbull does not have the power – and, dare one say, the agility and decency – to adjust his government's stance. The conventional view is that the minority of his colleagues who are opposed to marriage equality would rebel and bring about his demise. Really? First, how can a minority vote him out of office? Second, such people are far more likely to face facts rather than risk losing their seats, and government.

Australians' collective support for ending marriage injustice has long-been recorded. Photo: Joe Armao

Another absurdity is the argument that the Coalition has a mandate for the plebiscite. The Coalition lost almost its entire majority in the July 2 election. Were the enabling legislation blocked in the Senate, the government should argue that the most affordable, effective and responsible way to proceed would be a conscience vote in the Parliament. The bulk of the population would applaud and be delighted. This would buoy support for Mr Turnbull in the community, and leave the disgruntled few on the Coalition's backbench impotent.

Mr Turnbull and your colleagues, this change will come. As we have said and will keep saying, when marriage equality laws pass, the only thing that will happen is people in love will get married.