Labor’s apparent intention to block the same-sex marriage plebiscite bill has been bolstered by an Essential poll that shows if it is blocked a majority of voters want a free vote in parliament.
Bill Shorten has ramped up the pressure on the government over the plebiscite by signalling the only compromise Labor will accept is a free vote in parliament.
According to an Essential poll, released on Tuesday, 53% of voters say if the plebiscite is blocked there should be a vote in parliament, compared with 29% who say there should not be.
Even Coalition voters approve of a free vote in parliament if the plebiscite is blocked, with 46% in favour and 38% against.
The results suggest that the slim majority or plurality who support a plebiscite in opinion polls do so at least in part because they view it as the quickest way to achieve same-sex marriage and many would switch support to a parliamentary vote if a plebiscite is not possible.
Speaking after consulting with LGBTI leaders on Tuesday, Shorten shut down government suggestions of a Labor compromising to pass the plebiscite bill.
“[Malcolm] Turnbull’s recently on the weekend been sending signals that he wants to have compromise,” he said. “Compromise is letting your own MPs vote according to their conscience in parliament.”
Labor will decide its final position on the plebiscite bill at its next caucus meeting in three weeks but Shorten is expected to recommend the opposition block the bill.
Asked whether Labor’s consultations were necessary, Shorten said he wanted to hear what LGBTI leaders had to say but also “I want to explain to them what we think”.
Shorten criticised the plebiscite citing its cost and describing it as a “taxpayer-funded opinion poll” on the merit of same-sex relationships.
“Why do gay people in Australia have to go through a legislative, rule-making process that no one else does?”
Both conservative Coalition members, including Tony Abbott, and MPs in favour of marriage equality have warned Labor not to block the plebiscite because no free vote would be given. However, Turnbull has not ruled one out.
When asked if the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry – the proposed plebiscite question – the Essential poll found 60% of voters say yes, 30% say no and 10% say they don’t know.
It also found 68% of people oppose the total of $15m of public funding for the yes and no cases, with 48% strongly disapproving, compared with 22% in favour of public funding.
According to the poll 48% of respondents were concerned the plebiscite could lead to hate speech and abuse of gay and lesbian communities, including 22% who were very concerned, compared to 39% who were not concerned.
Speaking to Sky News in New York conservative senator, Corey Bernardi, praised Turnbull for respecting the Coalition policy to hold a plebiscite, and said “we would expect him to do that”.
Bernardi claimed that Labor and the Greens opposed the plebiscite because they were “scared about the verdict”.
“The intolerance and bigotry shown to those who want to stick up for the traditional view of marriage is extraordinary,” he said.
Tiernan Brady, the Australians For Equality director, told Guardian Australia during the Irish referendum there was an increase in use of support services, including LGBTI hotlines, despite the debate being “the most respectful you could manage”.
“It’s still a stressful and anxious time for lesbian and gay people – it’s a vote about their lives,” he said. “It’s not a vote about normal issue but their status and dignity in society.”
Brady said the government’s plebiscite proposal was missing any extra funding for support services.
“It included $15m of funding for TV ads for either side, I think it would be much better if even a fraction of that funds services to support people.”
On Thursday a broad coalition of marriage equality and LGBTI groups rejected the plebiscite proposal due to public funding for ads, the “unnecessary complexity” of the question and lack of clarity on proposed changes to the Marriage Act.
