The Australian people will have their say on legalising same-sex marriage with a postal ballot that will cost $122 million, start in five weeks and be completed by November, enabling Parliament to change the law before Christmas if the Yes vote is carried.
Under a plan signed off on Tuesday by Liberals and Nationals at their joint party room, the Senate will be asked this week to support
legislation for a compulsory same-sex marriage plebiscite on Saturday, November 25.
But this option is as good as dead because the Senate parties which voted down legislation to have a plebiscite in February this year, have already vowed to do so again. These are Labor, the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team, Jacqui Lambie and Derryn Hinch.
So the government will default to plan B, a postal plebiscite which is non-compulsory. The mailout to every registered vote will begin on will begin on September 12 with all responses due by November 7 and with the result to be announced in November 15.
That will also give Parliament time to legislate to change the Marriage Act if the Yes vote was carried.
If the No vote prevails, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told the party room the issue should not come back to the Parliament. But Liberal rebels may again try to force a debate and vote on a private members bill.
Mr Turnbull told reporters he would be supporting a yes vote but not necessarily campaigning for one, giving there were many more important issues occupying both his mind ad that of the voters, including national security, energy and the economy.
"That's my focus, running the country," he said.
To circumvent a legal challenge by same-sex marriage proponents who dispute the government's claim that legislation is not needed for a postal vote, it will be conducted as a survey done by the Australia Bureau of Statistics. Australian Electoral Commission officials will be seconded to the ABS. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has discretionary powers to appropriate up to $295 million for an ABS "survey" without having the use legislation to appropriate the money. That, he said, would be "more than enough" to cover the $122 million cost.
Mr Turnbull said even though he advocated a yes vote, he would respect the outcome if it were a NO vote.
"I believe relationships, marriages, should be available to people like (wife) Lucy and me, people of different sex, different men and women and also to people of the same-sex," he said.
"Other people have different views on that fundamental issue and I respect their views and are entitled to them."
He urged both sides of the debate to keep it respectful, amid revelations of sordid pamphlets being circulated by religious groups bout the children of same-sex couples.
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