The Coalition could consult with Labor to reach a more favourable wording of the same-sex marriage plebiscite question to win opposition support for the popular vote, Christopher Pyne has suggested.
Australian Marriage Equality’s chairman, Alex Greenwich, has welcomed the idea, suggesting a fair plebiscite question could help address Labor’s concerns.
The idea comes as the attorney general, George Brandis, and pro-marriage equality Liberal MPs have warned Labor must support the plebiscite or marriage equality will be off the agenda for years.
But the former chief of staff to Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin, has said that Labor could try to pass a private member’s bill if three Coalition lower-house MPs crossed the floor to suspend standing orders.
The government is struggling to win support for the plebiscite-enabling legislation, with the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and Derryn Hinch intending to block it, and Labor giving strong indications it will too.
Asked on Tuesday about Labor’s concerns that a campaign would include homophobic messages, Bill Shorten said: “People of faith can be opposed to marriage equality but some people who object to marriage equality do have homophobic attitudes.”
On ABC’s 7.30 on Monday, Pyne called on Labor to “stop playing politics with same-sex marriage and support the people’s will as expressed at the election”.
He said if the enabling legislation were blocked “there won’t be a plebiscite ... [and] Labor would have stood in the way of same-sex marriage coming into law in this country”.
“So therefore the hate should be on them ... not us.”
Asked about a possible parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage, Pyne said: “That is not our policy.”
Labor has raised concerns about the wording of the plebiscite, with Shorten querying why the words “marriage equality” weren’t included.
Asked about cooperating with Labor on the wording, Pyne said Brandis “may well consult with the Labor party about that but at the moment Labor is saying they are not going to support the plebiscite”.
A Newspoll published by the Australian on Tuesday showed voters rated dealing with marriage equality the second-highest priority of the new parliament, behind budget repair but equal with border security.
On ABC’s Lateline on Monday, Brandis noted Labor had stopped short of promising to block the plebiscite and expressed hope Shorten “doesn’t succumb to the temptation to play politics with the issue”.
Asked if the options were “a plebiscite or nothing”, Brandis said the policy was endorsed at the election and is “the only way the government can deal with this issue”.
“Mr Shorten needs to know that if the Labor party decides to stop the plebiscite bill then they will have stopped gay marriage for the foreseeable future.
“And I think, particularly for those members of the gay community who want to be included in the institution of marriage, that would be a tragedy.”
The warnings echo the concerns of Liberal MPs including Trevor Evans, Tim Wilson, Warren Entsch and Simon Birmingham that Labor risks delaying marriage equality for yeras.
On Monday the Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman told Guardian Australia “there is no plan B” if Labor blocks the plebiscite.
“The plebiscite is not the worst option, as Labor and others suggest, the worst option is that marriage equality is not achieved in this term of parliament,” he said. “It would be an injustice on gay and lesbian men and women to defer this issue for three or more years.”
On Sky News, Credlin suggested a private member’s bill could pass the Senate, allowing the opposition a chance to suspend standing orders to pass same-sex marriage in the lower house.
She said that would require 76 votes, which would mean three Coalition MPs would have to cross the floor, assuming Bob Katter voted with the government.
But Zimmerman said conscience votes were not allowed on procedural motions, so Liberal MPs could not assist Labor in bringing on a same-sex marriage vote.
LGBTI rights groups have reacted to the growing opposition to the plebiscite, with Just Equal and Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays Australia encouraging it to be blocked and Australian Marriage Equality warning parties must find a way through the impasse.
Greenwich told Radio National on Tuesday the government could help address Labor and others’ concerns by revealing the plebiscite question and ruling out public funding for the “yes” and “no” cases.
He suggested a fair phrasing for the plebiscite question would be “Do you support marriage between two people regardless of gender?”
Asked who would be to blame if marriage equality were delayed by three years, Greenwich said: “Everyone, all of our elected representatives will be to blame.
“This is a situation where we’ve got 84 supporters in the House of Reps and 41 in the Senate – that’s enough to get the legislation through.
“If Labor, the Liberal party, the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team can’t together to break this impasse they will be all held accountable.”
A spokesman for Just Equal, Ivan Hinton-Teoh, said he expected that once the plebiscite was knocked on the head “the government will look again at a free vote, and even if a free vote isn’t allowed only a handful of Liberals need to cross the floor for marriage equality to pass”.
“In the absence of a plebiscite I believe there is a parliamentary path forward for marriage equality.”
At least 40 religious denominations, ethnic groups, charities and conservative organisations have signed up to a memorandum of understanding under an organisation to be called Australians for Marriage, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
The denominations include Catholic, Anglican, Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, Baptists, Pentecostal and the Assemblies of God.
The report said the coalition aspired to grow to more than 100 groups and “would claim to represent a congregation and membership of between four and six million Australians”.
