Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull kills off Liberals’ push for gay marriage
by Katharine Murphy, Guardian:
Malcolm Turnbull has killed a push to bring forward a new private member’s bill on same-sex marriage, saying legislation won’t be brought on “until there has been a vote of the Australian people”.
The prime minister told 3AW on Tuesday the government would not allow a new private member’s bill to be considered until a plebiscite on the question had been held. “That is our position. That is our policy.”
There has been open talk around the government for months that moderates have been preparing another legislative sortie on marriage equality. That activity is the backdrop to covertly recorded comments made by Christopher Pyne over the weekend.
Pyne said at a Liberal party function that marriage equality would happen and, “I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks. And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome.”
Pyne’s indiscretion triggered a fierce backlash from conservatives, and prompted the prime ministerial shutdown on Tuesday.
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