Advertisement

Religious freedoms must be included in same-sex marriage bill, says Matt Canavan

Yes supporters celebrate in Melbourne.
Yes supporters celebrate in Melbourne. Some senior government figures have urged colleagues to pursue religious protections outside the marriage bill. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Elements of the right are resisting suggestions from senior Turnbull government figures that religious freedom be considered separately from legalising same-sex marriage, with National Matt Canavan declaring the issues need to be considered “in one job lot”.

But while some right wingers are doubling down ahead of the resumption of debate next week, same-sex marriage advocates inside the government have warned some amendments pursued by right wingers are likely to breach the constitution.

The Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson has also pointed out the “oddity” of conservative figures now pursuing a de-facto bill of rights for religious protections – a cause the right in Australia has long opposed.

“Where this discussion around having an extra protection around religious freedom takes us is towards a charter or a bill of rights,” Wilson told the ABC on Sunday.

“It’s an oddity to see many people who identify as conservative or socially conservative who have traditionally opposed a bill of rights or charter of rights now prosecuting this cause.”

Senior conservative figures, like the immigration minister Peter Dutton, last week signalled issues of religious freedom could be “potentially” considered separately from the looming consideration of marriage equality by the parliament.

The architect of the private member’s bill currently before the Senate to legalise same-sex marriage, the Liberal senator Dean Smith, has urged colleagues with concerns about religious freedom to pursue the issue through a separate committee process in the new year rather than fracture the current cross-party consensus.

But Canavan on Sunday rejected the public hint from Dutton: “Now is the time to deal with these matters in one job lot,” the Nationals frontbencher told Sky News on Sunday.

As well as digging in for the looming marriage fight, conservative Nationals are also signalling trouble on other fronts in the wake of last week’s historic yes vote.

Some senators and a lower house MP, George Christensen, have warned they will pursue issues like the banking royal commission in an environment where the government is tolerating bouts of private members’ business.

The treasurer Scott Morrison has also thrown in his lot with the group wanting amendments in the marriage debate. “We now need a bill that acts for 100% of Australians, not 61%,” he told the News Corp columnist Miranda Devine.

“We now need a bill that addresses … these other very fundamental issues of faith and belief.”

But Wilson said on Sunday some amendments, particularly interventions to protect parental rights, would be difficult to achieve.

He said state governments ran schools and determined school curriculum, not the national government.

“I see a lot of claims of things people want to see in the Marriage Act, but I have concerns that they may not be constitutional,” Wilson said Sunday.

He said the federal government had the power to legislate for marriage, but not for actions taken in classrooms.

Wilson said supporters of marriage equality would consider all amendments from colleagues, but he pointed out they hadn’t yet appeared, despite all the public positioning.

“I mean, I’m one of the strongest advocates for religious liberty in the parliament but it’s hard to have a discussion around the detail of it when you haven’t actually seen what’s been drafted,” Wilson said.

The Victorian MP said the government needed to take stock of the emphatic yes vote, and ensure conduct in Canberra was connected to the views held by Liberal party supporters and by the community as a whole.

In the postal survey, 71 out of 76 Coalition-held electorates voted yes.

“We need to make sure we’re connected to the community and understand what they’re saying and I think what they’re actually saying is they want us to address these issues, not to get hung up on them – like Sir Robert Menzies said, not die in a ditch when your have a difference of opinion, you actually have to lead the future and chart it, that’s where the government should be heading,” Wilson said.