The special minister of state, Scott Ryan, says the Australian Electoral Commission needs to focus on concluding the federal election, and not be pressured to juggle that responsibility with the marriage equality plebiscite.
Ryan will meet the electoral commissioner next week and seek advice on the conduct of the plebiscite but he cautioned on Tuesday the AEC needed to undertake “its prime task of counting votes”.
On Sunday the attorney general, George Brandis, said he wanted to ask cabinet to decide on the wording of the proposed same-sex marriage plebiscite in the next few weeks.
During the course of an interview on the ABC’s Insiders program, Brandis said the Australian electoral commissioner would hopefully provide guidance to the government this week about how early the vote could be held.
But Ryan has scotched that notion, signalling the commission needs to focus on concluding the election before diverting resources elsewhere.
The count is continuing in the lower-house seat of Herbert, and it looks likely the ultimate result in the north Queensland seat will be the subject of legal challenges.
Ryan said on Sky News he would seek advice on the conduct of the plebiscite at his meeting with the commissioner next week, than make some recommendations to cabinet about timing and process over the coming weeks.
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has said he wants the marriage equality plebiscite to be held by year’s end but after the election some conservatives have renewed efforts to delay the process.
On Sunday Brandis signalled he wanted to get on with establishing the plebiscite, confirming that he and the prime minister remained of the view that the marriage equality vote should be held this year.
Ryan said allowing the AEC time to conclude the election before moving on to the next task did not mean the plebiscite would slip into next year. He said it was “entirely possible” to get the plebiscite conducted this year.
