Same-sex marriage: Government MPs fight over religious protections
A FIERCE debate over religious freedom has ignited within the Turnbull Government as it tries to decide how to legalise same-sex marriage, believing the Yes vote will record a historic win this week.
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A FIERCE debate over religious freedom has ignited within the Turnbull Government as it tries to decide how to legalise same-sex marriage, believing the Yes vote will record a historic win on Wednesday.
Conservative MPs are backing a last-ditch proposal to allow bakers, florists, photographers and others the right to refuse service to same-sex weddings.
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The Bill, drafted by Victorian senator James Paterson, is doomed to fail in parliament but shapes as a line in the sand from conservatives, who will likely use elements of it to try to amend Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s preferred Bill from gay Liberal Dean Smith.
Senator Paterson’s proposal keeps the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman while also legalising same-sex marriage, and rolls back anti-discrimination provisions to provide legal cover to those who oppose it for religious reasons.
Senator Smith’s plan, derived from the recommendations of a cross-party panel, will be put into the Senate for debate on Thursday if the majority of Australians voted yes.
It only provides exemptions for churches and religious groups to refuse same-sex weddings.
Mr Turnbull said it was “clearly a good Bill to start with”, but there would “no doubt be plenty of amendments”.
Senator Paterson said the Liberal Party had never discussed how to legalise same sex marriage, and that a party room debate would be “a good thing”.
The Liberal party room has already agreed to allow a free vote on a private member’s Bill, such as Senator Smith’s, but the internal fight over religious protections now looms as a critical test for the Prime Minister as he languishes in the polls.
Moderate MPs urged Mr Turnbull to “stand up” to the conservatives who are backing Senator Paterson’s plan.
It would enshrine legal protections for people with a “relevant marriage belief”, including that “sexual relations should only occur within a marriage” and that “the normative state of gender is binary”.
Parents would be allowed to remove their kids from classes at school which did not reflect their views.
The Law Council of Australia warned it would be an “extraordinary and perilous” effort to weaken anti-discrimination laws.
Labor and the Greens are supportive of Senator Smith’s Bill, meaning it should have sufficient support to pass both houses of Parliament, with Mr Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pushing for the issue to be dealt with before Christmas.
About 80 per cent of Australian voters participated in the $122 million postal survey, with the results to be revealed at 10am on Wednesday
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