Julie Bishop supports gay marriage, wishes for a plebiscite

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has extended her support to same-sex marriage and has showed willingness to hold a plebiscite on the same. Her stance, which has been kept private until now, was happily welcomed by marriage equality advocates.

In an interview with Channel Ten’s The Project, Bishop stated that she has absolutely no concerns with same-sex marriage, favouring to hold a plebiscite as there were others who were concerned about it. "I have absolutely no concerns about it myself, but I know there a lot of people who are deeply concerned about the issue," Bishop said.

She said it was important for Australians to vote on such significant issue. “That’s why I think a plebiscite, where the Australian people, get to have a vote on it, on an issue as fundamental as this, that goes to the very competition of our community, the way we feel about each other, how we treat each other, that’s the core of a plebiscite,” she added.

Meanwhile, Rodney Croome from Australian Marriage Equality said her support was an immense contribution to the same-sex union campaign.

He added that her support would push more members from Liberal Party to vote in favour of the issue. This would also bring in favour from more Australians. "It shows the campaign for equality is working and momentum for reform is unstoppable," he was quoted by the ABC as saying.

The news comes days after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull voiced his support for same-sex marriage and pushed for a plebiscite ahead of the next federal election. However, the federal parliament remains divided over the issue. Some conservative members, including Liberal Party MP Senator Eric Abetz, have criticised the proposal of bringing the issue as a legislation in the parliament.

On the other hand, Labor has not been in favour of a plebiscite. It believes it's best to put it in the parliament within this term, reported The Age.

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