Labor to Pitch for 'Conscience Vote' on Gay Union Debate
It is highly likely that come Saturday, majority members of the Australian Labor Party would throw their support behind Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who advocates for a conscience vote that will determine the ruling party's unified stand on same-sex marriage.
According to Labor MP Jason Clarke, a debate would be held prior to a scheduled vote on the issue tomorrow in Sydney, and "there can be a series of amendments throughout the course of the debate."
While officially, the Right and Left blocs sparring for a definitive ALP stand on gay unions have yet to fully concede which faction would emerge victorious, The Australian said on Friday that Gillard would have her way after the vote has been counted.
Leading Labor Left leader Doug Cameron has admitted that opposing the Prime Minister's call for a conscience vote instead of a straight-forward stand on the contentious issue would be a herculean task.
In an interview with ABC Radio, the Labor Senator conceded that the numbers are against his group going into the first day of the ALP convention
Without formally conceding defeat, Cameron allowed that getting in the way of Gillard's assertions would be next to impossible by tomorrow but he vowed not to give up without a fight.
"We don't think a conscience vote is appropriate on this issue. It is not a matter of life of death and we just think it's a civil issue, a social issue, and should be dealt with in that way," The Australian reported Cameron as saying during the ABC Radio interview.
A senior member of Gillard's cabinet, Defence Minister Stephen Smith, confirmed that majority of Labor members have agreed to support the Prime Minister's call for a conscience vote.
Himself a member of ALP's Right wing, Smith said that Gillard's stance is actually a good starting point for Labor MPs to debate, "where people have strong views, they're firmly held."
"If you want to make progress and if you want to deal with this in a way that respects all people's views then the best way of proceeding is to affect the conscience vote," Smith was quoted by ABC as saying on Friday.