Attorney General George Brandis has confirmed that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the government vowed to hold a public vote on same-sex marriage if it wins the election later this year.
Business Insider reported that a 'yes' vote by the public which is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage would result in changes to the Marriage Act by the end of 2016. This means that same-sex marriage could be legal in Australia as early as 2017.
"In the event that there would be a yes vote the government would legislate to give effect to the wishes of the people," said Brandis.
Prime Minister Turnbull and Brandis believe that those who favor a reform of the law will be proposing that the relevant sections of the Marriage Act should be revised to reflect the reality that is the case now in most comparable western and Christian democracies. However, Brandis expects that not all members of the Coalition will vote in favor of same-sex marriage, as reported by Buzzfeed.
However, Turnbull's office distanced itself from Brandis' remarks that a plebiscite would be held by the end of the year. A spokeswoman for Turnbull said that the government was committed to holding the plebiscite until the election is done.
According to The Standard, labor leader Bill Shorten said the comments revealed that the government's chaos and division had reached new levels. The proposed same-sex marriage has been openly criticized by the Greens and marriage equality advocacy groups, who warn it will be a divisive and ugly debate that harms LGBT Australians.
Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said it would take three months to organize a plebiscite. In a written statement, the commission added that if a same-sex marriage referendum were to be held in conjunction with a federal election, then it would require 29 weeks to prepare.
Last year, the Australian Electoral Commission warned that a public vote on same-sex marriage should not be rushed. IF same-sex marriage will be legalized in Australia, the country would be on par with other nations such as Spain, Ireland, Scotland, France, Canada, and New Zealand.
