CALL ON FEDS TO HEED VIEWS OF RESPECTED LIB LEADERS

Australian Marriage Equality has welcomed calls from former Liberal Party premiers, Nick Greiner and Jeff Kennett, for the Federal Coalition Government to drop plans for a marriage equality plebiscite and let the parliament pass the reform as a matter of urgency.

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, former NSW Premier, Nick Greiner, said a plebiscite will cause division in the Coalition and distract from key election issues:

“Last year opponents of marriage equality may have thought a plebiscite was a clever delaying tactic, but now it is distracting the government from the economy, tax reform and national security and will do so right up to the election and beyond.”

“Every comparable country has addressed this issue through Parliament unless a constitutional change was needed. Why not Australia?… We can do this in 2016 through Parliament with less expense and division than through a nationwide opinion poll.”

Yesterday former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett told Sydney radio station 2UE:

“We don’t need a plebiscite on this. We don’t need to waste another $158 million on a vote. If Malcolm had any courage, he would have simply stood up and said ‘I’m going to put this through the Parliament.” What he’s saying now: ‘This decision, this policy position was decided by Tony Abbott and we’re going to stay with it,'”

Australian Marriage Equality National Director, Rodney Croome, urged the Government to heed the warnings of these respected former leaders.

“Nick Greiner and Jeff Kennett understand the importance of avoiding the social division and unnecessary expense a plebiscite will entail.”

“In particular, Mr Greiner makes a compelling case for why a plebiscite is bad for the Coalition because it distracts from its key messages and threatens party unity.”

“The Parliament can resolve this matter now through a free vote and save the nation from a distracting, potentially destabilising, and very expensive debate, the result of which we can predict from ten years of opinion polls”

“The time to act is now, and the place is in parliament.”
Australian Marriage Equality national director, Rodney Croome