LGBTIQA advocates welcome Labor plan to block same-sex marriage plebiscite

Beau Newell said he was thrilled the federal Labor Party announced it would block the passage of a same-sex marriage plebiscite in the Senate on Tuesday.

Mr Newell, who helps run the website Regional & Rural NSW Supports Marriage Equality, said the announcement was a “very positive thing”.

He said the plebiscite would have been “horrible and divisive” and may have lead to the death of many young people distressed at seeing their sexuality or families denigrated during the plebiscite debate.

“They are part of a normal, loving family and the plebiscite may make them feel like somehow they don’t deserve what other people do,” Mr Newell said.

“We’d like to see people doing more than posting things on Facebook, we’d like people to talk to their MPs, if they have one, and letting them know how they feel about it (same sex marriage).”

Regional & Rural NSW Supports Marriage Equality website member Nicholas Steepe said he hoped marriage equality has not landed in Australia’s too-hard basket and a parliamentary vote on it is not wishful thinking.

He said many of his community was  “absolutely” against the proposed February 11 plebiscite costing about $170 million.

Earlier he described as “insulting” features of the federal government’s exposure draft of the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill released by Attorney-General George Brandis on Monday.

Mr Brandis said a committee would review and report on the bill if the parliament approved the plebiscite. It seeks to “strengthen” protection for religious ministers refusing to marry same-sex couples and allow non-religious celebrants to turn them down based on “conscientious” grounds.

Mr Steepe said marriage equality was about “removing discrimination”.

The exposure draft bill seeks to replace the definition of marriage as between “a man and a woman” with “two people” and recognise same-sex marriages performed overseas. The Attorney-General said the plebiscite was the “quickest way towards achieving same-sex marriage in this Parliament”. The Senate vote on the plebiscite is tipped to be as close as 37 to 35.

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