A handful of Liberal MPs may cross the floor over marriage equality next week
Image: Malcolm Turnbull. Image: Facebook / Malcolm Turnbull.
A VOTE on marriage equality in Parliament could happen within the coming weeks and cause splintering within the Coalition, as a handful of Liberal MPs suggest they may cross the floor on the issue when parliament returns next week.
Liberal backbenchers that expressed their willingness to cross the floor on the divisive issue include Trevor Evans, Tim Wilson, Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman and Jason Wood.
Some Coalition MPs have said the issue is overshadowing other government priorities,聽聽has reported.
Openly gay Queensland Liberal MP Trevor Evans has that he believes a parliamentary vote is the quickest way to resolve marriage equality, and he hasn鈥檛 ruled out crossing the floor to support Labor in a marriage equality bill.
Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull said Evans and other MPs have the right to exercise a conscience vote on the matter.
鈥淚n our party, backbenchers have always had the right to cross the floor,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a fundamental principle in the Liberal Party and indeed the National Party. So it鈥檚 a very different political culture to the very authoritarian and centrally controlled culture of the Labor Party.鈥�
Coalition MPs who are against same-sex marriage or believe the government should stick to its promise to introduce a plebiscite are likely to fight a parliamentary vote.
Conservative Liberal MP Craig Kelly has also warned any colleagues crossing the floor that they would be responsible for breaking an election commitment.
Other senior conservatives Liberals have said Turnbull鈥檚 leadership is 鈥渢erminal鈥� if he can鈥檛 stop MPs from crossing the floor over marriage equality, according to the .
鈥淚f Turnbull can鈥檛 control the moderates, what鈥檚 the point of his prime ministership?鈥� said one.
The issue is expected to come to a head next week after a private members鈥� bill is sent to all MPs.
鈥淚t has to be resolved within the next week because it鈥檚 starving the government of talking about legislation,鈥� said one MP yesterday.
Advocacy groups PFLAG and just.equal have launched a national to gauge LGBTI community attitudes about the proposed . The survey closes today.
Malcolm, it is time you asserted your authority over your MPs & Senators. It is time you stood up for what you believe is Right.
You are on the record as being in favour of Marriage Equality.
If the homophobes and bigots within your Party dump you then so be it.
At least, unlike them, you will go out with your head held high for standing up for what you believe in.
Peter Dutton has said he is not a challenger – but then so did Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd just before they stabbed each other in the back. So did Bill Shorten before he stabbed both of them!
The Voters don’t like Peter and the Liberal Party would be damned fools if they replaced you with him.
Malcolm,: Bring it On and do it Now”
We are told the Coalition is on a hiding to nowhere at the 2019 Federal Election and you will be replaced as PM by Mr Disloyalty himself: Bill Shorten. Elitist-educated hypocrite now claiming to be the Champion of Equality.
What’s astonishing is that if you are a true Liberal conservative, the plebiscite is a disaster of a policy. It defies the tradition of Liberalism by imposing what John Adams in the 18 century called the tyranny of the majority. It defies Australian political and constitutional tradition. It wastes hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. Those opposed to marriage equality are dragging Australia away from its position as a modern, western, wealthy judeo-christian society because when we look around the world, every country comparable to Australia has marriage equality. On every level, it runs counter to true conservative Liberalism.
Yet these idiots are going to bring down a government and hand Labor the keys to the lodge because they insist on going with it.
They are on the wrong side of history and they will be derided for decades to come.