Gay marriage vote planned next year

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced legislation to Parliament yesterday that would allow a public but nonbinding vote on gay marriage early next year.

Turnbull, a marriage equality advocate who is the only serving prime minister to attend the Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, introduced the bill on the first anniversary of his ascension to the top government job.

He replaced Tony Abbott, a gay marriage opponent who proposed that the public decide the issue with a popular vote and avoid a bitter debate in Parliament.

But the February 11 referendum – a compulsory vote for all adult Australians – would have no legal weight. Parliament would ultimately decide whether the law would be changed.

Most Australian gay rights activists are against a referendum, saying the issue should be decided in Parliament without the potential divisive public debate.

They fear that government plans to spend A$15 million (NZ$15.45M) on publicising the cases for and against marriage equality would give legitimacy to bigoted and homophobic views.

Turnbull told Parliament that the real reason marriage equality advocates opposed the referendum was because they thought enough lawmakers already supported the reform for it to become law.

‘‘For our part, we put our faith in the Australian people, and we know that their answer, whether it is ‘yes’ or ‘no’, will be the right answer.’’

The government does not have a majority in the Senate, and two minor parties that support samesex marriage have said they won’t vote for a referendum.

The government’s only chance of support lies with the opposition Labor Party.

Labor leader Bill Shorten, who backs marriage equality, has argued that a referendum would ‘‘give the haters a chance to come out from underneath the rock and make life harder for’’ lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. But Shorten has not ruled out supporting the referendum to avoid a stalemate in Parliament over gay marriage.

Turnbull opposed the referendum before striking a deal with hard-right party power brokers to become prime minister.