Ministers ordered to stop talking about same-sex marriage

The Turnbull ministry has been ordered to put a lid on talk of moves to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage.

Barnaby Joyce warns that continued discussion of fringe issues such as marriage equality would be the government’s road to ruin.

The Turnbull ministry has been ordered to put a lid on talk of moves to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage, with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce yesterday reading the riot act to colleagues.

The Australian has learned that the Nationals leader addressed a meeting of the frontbench yesterday before a return to parliament today, warning that continued discussion of fringe issues such as marriage equality would be the government’s road to ruin.

A Liberal frontbench source in the meeting confirmed Mr Joyce told the room MPs had to stop talking about issues that appealed to Sydney’s inner-city “Oxford Street”.

“It was a spray,” one Liberal frontbencher said.

“He said if we continue to be distracted by issues which only appeal to people in George Street and Oxford Street but not in the outer suburbs and the regions, things will not improve,” another said.

“He then specifically raised gay marriage as an example.”

Malcolm Turnbull was said to have nodded in agreement as Mr Joyce addressed colleagues, in a clear signal to moderate MPs agitating for a shift in policy to a free vote on same-sex marriage there would be no deviation from the Coalition policy of a plebiscite. “The mood of the room was clearly anger that the agenda we tried to set last week had been derailed by a few MPs trying to push the issue again,” another source in the meeting said.

They said there were several ministers prepared to resign if there was any contemplation of shifting on the policy of a plebiscite to decide the issue.

It has been reported that several moderate MPs among the Prime Minister’s support base were agitating to bring the issue back to the Coalition partyroom within the next two weeks. They want Mr Turnbull to dump the ­national plebiscite, which would allow the people to decide the outcome, in favour of the Labor policy of a free vote in the parliament under which MPs would not be bound by party policy.

Mr Turnbull has insisted there will be no change of policy and blamed Labor for its refusal to ­support the plebiscite as the ­reason the issue had not been ­resolved.

Newly elected Victorian MP Tim Wilson is among those leading the charge and has argued that he had honoured a commitment to vote for the plebiscite in accordance with party policy when it was introduced and defeated late last year. This, he suggested, had freed him from his obligations and now allowed him to push for a free vote.

Other MPs named as behind the push included West Australians Dean Smith and Melissa Price, Trent Zimmerman, a first-term MP from NSW, and Queenslanders Warren Entsch and Trevor Price. Colleagues of cabinet minister Christopher Pyne had accused him of encouraging the move.

Mr Pyne said yesterday a ­national vote could have been held this Saturday had Labor not blocked the plebiscite.

“Labor defeated the plebiscite bill for marriage equality last year in a very ‘cutting-off-one’s-nose-to-spite-one’s-face’ move,” he said.