The Lieberals have opened the door a touch to reconsider the logic behind spending $160million on a marriage equality plebiscite. When some gov ministers have announced they won't follow it's decision anyway, and when there is already the numbers in parliament to pass marriage equality if the Lieberals are given a free conscience vote.
I suspect they are starting the hear the cacophony of protests from the community after the sheer futile pointlessness of a plebiscite became apparent recently. It's also an election year, with Labor promising marriage equality within the first 100 days if it forms gov. The pressure is on.
The Turnbull government could still walk away from its plan to hold a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, opening up the prospect of Parliament voting on same-sex marriage before the federal election, Liberal MP Warren Entsch says.
Mr Entsch, who is working with Attorney-General George Brandis to develop the plebiscite, said when details came before the party room, it would give the Coalition the chance to discuss the issue again.
The Coalition's leading advocate for same-sex marriage said when presented with the cost, timeframe and process of a national vote, some MPs may want to revisit the government's stance.
"Would you like to go down this track or would like to also consider the option of a free vote?"
Mr Entsch said recent comments from senators Eric Abetz and Cory Bernardi - suggesting they would not vote for same-sex marriage regardless of what a plebiscite says - may also prompt some MPs to reconsider the plebiscite position.
He said people might be "critical" of the government spending an estimated $160 million on a national vote if some MPs were not going to abide by the outcome, anyway. However, he noted that the votes of a small group of dissenting senators was not likely to make "any difference" when it came to the legislation ultimately passing or not passing Parliament. Sydney Morning Herald
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