Apart from recognising marriage equality as family friendly, more and more conservatives around the world realise there’s also votes to be won, writes Rodney Croome. Will the Coalition under Tony Abbott agree?
The passage of marriage equality through the UK House of Commons, thanks to a Conservative Party conscience vote, offers Tony Abbott an historic opportunity to turn the issue from a vote loser for the Coalition into a vote winner.
Unlike their UK counterparts, members of the Coalition currently can’t vote for reform without jeopardising their position within, or aspiration to, the Coalition frontbench, something Abbott justifies by referring to a promise he made before the last election.