Voters burn as parties fiddle on

MP claims he can break Coalition

AS ANGER burns in the voting community, the Coalition meets to fiddle with the settings on the equal marriage decision.

Liberal MPs met in Canberra yesterday aiming to beat a deadlock that had two exits – a vote in Parliament or a vote by the people – the plebiscite.

But Nationals MP Andrew Broad upstaged the Liberals by threatening to quit the Coalition if the Liberal Party allowed a parliamentary vote on it without a plebiscite first.

Mr Broad told his local newspaper, the Sunraysia Daily, it would signal the end of the Coalition.

“It won’t be me only, the whole show would blow up,” he said.

“So suddenly you’d lose 16 lower house members in one block. Turnbull’s leadership would become untenable and he’d no longer be prime minister.”

A national vote would not be binding unless it was a referendum and could cost $160 million for a plebiscite and more for a referendum.

A free vote in Parliament is opposed by the Nationals and by many Liberals but looks increasingly like delivering a clear Yes.

Recent focus groups held by Fairfax-Ipsos showed that young and middle-aged former Liberal or Labor supporters in Sydney and Melbourne held a common belief and held it strongly: government and opposition parties were failing them.

The young voters had lost interest and faith in the leading parties. Middle-aged voters were sceptical.

The key issue, as has been seen in many other polls in recent months is a belief the parties are only interested in their own survival and their pensions.

Part of the disillusion is Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull being seen as a do-nothing PM. The fact that he’s ahead of Bill Shorten is little comfort to the Opposition Leader.

The possibility that “rogue” Liberals might accept the postal plebiscite instead of people having to go to a polling booth on a specific day may save face in the party room and the benefit is expected to be sold as speeding the matter.