George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

The effect of this motion will be to bring on for debate the private senator's bill put forward by Senator Smith to enable the parliament to give effect to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the Australian people to change the law to allow same-sex couples to marry. This delivers on the Prime Minister's promise to facilitate such a debate in the event of a yes vote. The debate will now proceed in the usual manner for dealing with a private senator's bill, subject to the timetable provided for by the motion. The debate on the second reading will begin tomorrow. It is the government's intention that the debate will continue until the bill, with whatever amendments the Senate may agree to at the committee stage, is finally disposed of. I envisage that that is likely to be by the end of next Senate sitting week.

The Prime Minister and I and other members of the government have always said that there should be strong protections for religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Different senators will have their own views about whether the protections in Senator Smith's bill go far enough. I myself would prefer to see them go further, so I foreshadow that in the committee stage of the debate I will move an amendment to extend the right of conscientious objection to performing a ceremony of marriage from ministers of religion to include civil marriage celebrants as well. That is not a government position—there is no government position on a private senator's bill—but my own private view. Nothing in this bill inhibits the right of churches or of people of religious faith generally to continue to adhere to the doctrines and teachings of their church when it comes to marriage and to speak freely of those teachings, and to bring up their children in accordance with the tenets of their faith. Some have suggested incorrectly that the effect of the bill may be to limit that right. To put the matter beyond doubt, I will also move an amendment to make it clear that nothing in the bill makes it unlawful for people to hold and to express the views of their own religion on the subject of marriage. Such an amendment would not in any way derogate from the primary purpose of the bill, to enable same-sex couples to marry, but would make it clear that, as the Prime Minister and I have always said, that reform and the protection of religious freedom are not inconsistent. I thank the Senate.