The vote on gay marriage in Australia has been sped up. The vote was supposed to take place at the end of the year but could now be held as early as August following concerns from Labor’s Right that the debate is damaging the party.
As the bill, sponsored by Labor’s Stephen Jones, is a private member’s bill, there is only limited time for debate in Australian parliament on Mondays. This would mean a final vote would not take place until at least the end of the year.
Advocates of same-sex marriage accept that Parliament will defeat the push to legalise gay marriage.
Greens MP Adam Bandt has his own separate bill and will delay a vote on that until later this year or early next year in the hope public pressure changes minds.
Finance Minister, Penny Wong, one of the strongest proponents for a change to the Marriage Act, told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday that change would eventually come.
“I think the campaign is not going to go away because ultimately it’s a campaign for people’s equality,” she said.
