David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

( I'll be brief. Libertarians, in which I include Liberal Democrats members as well, have always said the government has no right to tell us who we can marry. My view is the plebiscite was always going to win. I don't think the campaign changed anything. Australians are very fair and decent people. I don't think a free vote prior to the plebiscite would have passed. That raises the question of whether this parliament is sufficiently representative. Nevertheless, this is a day of joy because we are winding back the powers of the government. But let's not forget that marriage is an important institution to many people. It is an important institution full stop. Let's respect the fact that, just as we do in this chamber, most of the time, we can agree to disagree with civility and tolerance.