Western Australian Liberal Senator Dean Smith has told Sky News that he is concerned about his governments proposes plebiscite on marriage equality.

The openly gay senator said yesterday that he is concerned about the precedent a plebiscite on this matter would set, echoing calls from the Greens earlier this month.

“I’m more interested in what it does for our democratic culture. Is this a good thing? Is this something we should be considering over the longer term?” Senator Smith asked.

Senator Smith identified that there have only been three plebiscites in Australia’s history, two in 1916 and 1917 on conscription and military service, and one in 1977 to choose our national song. Mr Smith said he wants to know why plebiscites have been so infrequent.

“People are growing increasingly concerned about the $160 million price tag, some people are concerned about whether the debate can be managed well by the Australian community.”

Senator Smith told Sky he would describe the Turnbull government’s commitment to a plebiscite as conceptual.

“Once we start to see the detail around what the plebiscite looks like, people will be able to make a judgement call about whether or not it is the right way to proceed,” he continues.

The senator says he would prefer to see marriage equality resolved by a parliamentary vote.

“I trust parliamentary sovereignty. It’s a system that works very, very well in our country.”

OIP Staff

Sources

• Sky News