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| Sunday, 11 December 2011 12:56 |
Tony Abbott on same-sex 'marriage'Liberal leader Tony Abbott has told the media that he believes the Liberal Party needs to stick to their pre-election commitment to support marriage as being 'between a man and a woman' and to oppose same-sex 'marriage'. Mr Abbott said, "Now every single member of my Coalition was elected on that position and I don't think we can break faith with the electorate." That's good news... but there is opposition from some Liberal Party MPs... Some of them are calling for a conscience vote on the issue - these include Malcolm Turnbull who has said he supports same-sex 'marriage'. Mr Abbott warned that those thinking about 'crossing the floor' first had a “fundamental duty” to honour party election commitments. The media report says that it is expected that the Shadow Cabinet will discuss the matter tomorrow and that Mr Abbott says the matter will not be settled until early in 2012. All too often election promises are tossed out of the window once a party is elected. Read media report: No free vote on gay marriage - Abbott - Herald Sun, 11 Dec 2011. Yesterday, Angela Shanahan wrote in The Australian that, if the Liberal Party were to give a 'conscience vote' they would just be bowing to pressure from Labor AND THE GREENS. ACTION: If your federal MP is in the Liberal or National Party, please contact them - ask them to ensure that the Liberal/National Coalition continues to uphold their election promise of fully supporting marriage as being between a man and a woman. |