The Australian Christian Lobby has called on the Turnbull government to stick with their commitment to hold a national plebiscite over the issue of marriage equality.
Lyle Shelton, the groups Executive Director said if the government found opposition to passing the plebiscite legislation through the parliament then the issue should be dropped until the next election, potentially pushing further debate back to 2019.
“I expect the Government’s resolve to allow the people to speak will be tested in the new Parliament,” Mr Shelton said.
“Any change to the meaning of marriage without a vote of the Australian people would be a breach of trust.
“If the Senate decides to obstruct the Government’s election promise for a plebiscite then the issue of same-sex marriage should be off the agenda for the remainder of the Parliament.”
Mr Shelton said he agreed with comments recently made by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce who described marriage equality as “a low order issue” among voters.
Despite describing the issue as “low order” the ACL also attributes the Labor party’s support for marriage equality as a significant reason for their election loss.
OIP Staff
