By Angela Hryc – 19 June, 2017

A plebiscite is another word to describe a way of voting for a change in parliament on an important issue. If it goes ahead, a plebiscite is a requirement for all citizens and people who are members of an electorate and enrolled to vote.

A plebiscite can go one of two ways, depending on the country’s system and the type of voting they use. The mandatory result means that the government must act and go ahead with what the final outcome says, whereas the advisory result is only present to help assist the government on what their final choice will be.

Unfortunately, in Australia, a plebiscite is known to have a very negative response from the general public and people who vote. Even if a plebiscite goes ahead – based on a particular issue – it is not guaranteed to be successful or passed through Parliament, even if the majority of votes outweighs the minority. On 14 September 2016, the Australian Parliament first introduced the Plebiscite (Same-sex Marriage) Bill, which was then blocked by the Senate that same year in November. This same-sex marriage bill caused a huge uproar from Australians, including the LGBT community, who continue to fight for marriage equality.

Since the rejection of the plebiscite for same-sex marriage, many organisations, support groups and advocates have come forward to try and put an end to this controversial issue. The Australian Marriage Equality (AME) is one of the many national organisations who support same-sex marriage and they are taking a stand to make sure that all Australian citizens gain the right to marry their partner regardless of their faith, race or sexuality.

The AME believe that a free vote is a better way to support same-sex marriage instead of the plebiscite that will cost Australians at least $160 million. The AME Fact Sheet defines free voting “where individual politicians are allowed to vote on a law any way they feel is appropriate, and are not bound by the policy of their party”.

Back in June 2014, leading research company, Crosby/Textor conducted a survey on same-sex marriage views in Australia, consisting of 1000 Australian participants. Their results showed that approximately 72% of Australians strongly supported marriage equality, as of July 2014. Further research from Crosby/Textor shows that 77% of Australians strongly believe that a free vote on marriage equality is the right way to go in Parliament.

Although plans for a plebiscite for same-sex marriage in Australia is not going ahead at this stage, this won’t stop any further attacks and damage from occurring in the LGBT community, which are most likely to be caused by the opponents of same-sex marriage. The LGBT community are constantly questioning where they stand in society, so the same-sex marriage issue only adds to their fear of hatred and isolation.

However, this won’t stop the same-sex marriage debate from continuing. The true issue here is that if the plebiscite was to ever go ahead, it would only taint the same-sex marriage debate even further one of which is an interference with basic human rights.