Australia: Conservatives prevail to hold back the tide on same-sex marriage
by Dennis Altman, The Conversation:
The social conservatives have won. Despite overwhelming evidence that most Australians would accept same-sex marriage, the Liberal Party insists its own brand of populism – a plebiscite to determine whether to amend the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriages – is the way forward.
No matter that the Senate has already rejected a plebiscite, arguing it is unnecessarily costly and divisive. The plebiscite, which the Abbott government developed as a way to prevent a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, has become a strategy to protect Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the coalition with the Nationals.
The politics of the plebiscite
There is no principled argument as to why this one issue should not be resolved by parliament, which has managed to legislate a whole series of changes to marriage and divorce over the past 50 years.
But the greatest problem with a plebiscite is that it is not, in itself, binding.
If the plebiscite fails to pass the Senate, the government will adopt a voluntary postal vote. This would put even less pressure on MPs than a plebiscite, and would be no more reliable than the numerous public opinion polls that show support for change.
The claim the government is bound by a mandate ignores the reality that voters also chose the full Senate – a majority of whom opposed a plebiscite.
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