Same-sex marriage plebiscite: Senators not bound by the views of Australia, says Abetz

Conservative senators have warned they may vote against same-sex marriage, regardless of whether the Australian public demands for it to be legal in a plebiscite poll.

Reserved Liberal senator Eric Abetz said his side would not naturally lie with the affirmative option, adding that the public’s vote would not necessarily be a go for or against same-sex marriage.

“Every member of parliament will make up his or her mind after the plebiscite is held. People will take into account the view of the electorate, the views of the nation and their own personal views,” Abetz told the Guardian Australia.

“There will be people in the parliament who could not support the outcome of a plebiscite whichever way it went. If the plebiscite came back with a ‘no’ vote on marriage equality would [pro marriage equality backbencher] Warren Entsch drop his campaigning on the issue? I think not.”

The reopened split within the Coalition follows on from a six-hour government party room meeting last August in Canberra, when former Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced same sex marriage would be for “the people to decide”.

Coalition frontbencher Steve Ciobo cautioned all MPs to think before they act when deciding whether to take into account or ignore the people's vote.

“I think for anybody in politics… to snub their nose at the viewpoint of the Australian people, which would be clearly expressed in a plebiscite, would be passing strange,” the International Development Minister told Sky News.

Liberal National MP Warren Entsch, who has been open about legalising same-sex marriage, also condemned Abetz’s stance as “bizarre” and “extraordinary”.

According to Entsch, a plebiscite would be a complex and expensive process - the national vote is expected to cost the taxpayer $160 million - and that after introducing a private member’s bill to legalise same-sex marriage last year, all politicians should respect the Australian people’s verdict.

“It makes you wonder why we would spend millions of dollars on a plebiscite if you’re not going to respect the result. I find it rather bizarre,” he said.

“If people make a decision either way we should respect that.”

Abetz’s comments come as former Prime Minister Tony Abbott prepares to address the Alliance Defending Freedom in New York, an American anti-gay marriage group.

Abbott’s successor Malcolm Turnbull defended his right to speak at the event, saying that there are “fellow members of the Coalition who have different views, and they are… entitled to express them”.