Churches lay out plebiscite fears for PM

Church leaders have written to Malcolm Turnbull demanding that any proposed bill on same-sex marriage be released.

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies.

The Anglican Archbishop of ­Sydney, Glenn Davies, and leading Catholic officials have written to Malcolm Turnbull demanding that any proposed bill on same-sex marriage be released before Australians are asked to vote on the issue.

With the Senate yesterday rejecting­ for a second time the government’s preferred option of a compulsory attendanc­e plebis­cite, the first salvos have been fired in a campaign to derail the people’s postal vote, which will begin within five weeks.

Opposing forces in the debate are lining up against the government, with church and Christian schools lobby groups demanding religious and freedom-of-speech protections, both during the public­ debate and in any bill on gay marriage that is put to the ­parliament should a “yes” vote be returned.

Religious figures have raised concerns directly with the Prime Minister about voter fraud, relig­ious protections and public funding for the campaign.

A senior government source confirmed that a letter had been delivered to the Prime Minister’s office and several cabinet ministers, signed by Archbishop Davies and delivering a series of blunt questions that he said the government had yet to answer.

A similar letter is believed to have been received from senior leaders of the Catholic Church.

“This timeframe is inapprop­riately short, particularly given there remain a number of un­resolved questions concerning the postal plebiscite process,” ­Archbishop Davies wrote.

The leading national yes lobby, Equality Campaign, and the Human Rights Law Centre said they were waiting to assess what legal challenge might be mounted against the plebiscite when more details were released.

“If and when we proceed with a legal challenge, it will be considered and based on the details yet to be provided by the government,” said HRLC co-chair and director Anna Brown.

The government released further detail late yesterday, including confirmation that the question to be put to Australians would remain the same as proposed under the plebiscite model rejected by the Senate.

It will ask: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirmed yesterday that he had signed an advance of $122 million to the Australian Bureau of Statistics to begin the first phase of the Plebiscite (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill 2016.

The ABS will begin to post envelopes on September 12, with returns to close on November 7 and a result to be confirmed on November 15.

The Australian Christian Schools Association is planning a campaign to ensure religious protections for schools are guaranteed, claiming neither Mr Turnbull nor Bill Shorten had offered a firm commitment to schools that their teachings of traditional marriage would be protected.

The list of issues raised by Archbishop Davies in his letter to Mr Turnbull included assurances on a previous personal commitment by the Prime Minister to make public funding available to both sides under the original plebiscite.

The letter asked if religious leaders would be engaged in preparation of the bill and “if a postal plebiscite is resolved in the negative, what assurances can be provided that this will be the end of the matter?”.

Archbishop Davies also wanted assurances that free speech would be protected during the campaign, considering activists had used anti-discrimination laws to silence church leaders.

The Opposition Leader called on the government to ensure a “civil” debate after questioning Mr Abbott’s calls for people who had concerns about religious freedoms to vote no. “Today the member for Warringah warned Australians to vote no in the plebiscite for reasons unrelated to marriage equality, claiming if you’re worried about religious freedom and free speech, vote no,” Mr Shorten said.

Mr Turnbull responded by calling on all sides engaged in the debate to act with “responsibility and respect”.

“If we’re seriously at the point where the Labor Party is saying you cannot have a vote on this issue because people will say outrageous things, then how can we have a referendum on any of the issues discussed?’’

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus suggested Labor would now accept the postal plebiscite, urging voters to get behind the yes campaign.

In elections run by the Australian Electoral Commission, people usually have at least seven days from the announcement of an election to get on the electoral roll.

Labor MPs yesterday urged same-sex marriage supporters to enrol to vote immediately.

“We might not like it, but the marriage equality postal vote is happening — and we have to win it. Enrol now!” Mr Dreyfus tweeted yesterday.