Australians almost never vote for constitutional change.
WSJ: CANBERRA, Australia—Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Australia are hitting up against a splintered Parliament after July elections drastically weakened conservative leader Malcolm Turnbull’s government.
While the prime minister is pushing for a popular vote on the issue, which he and a majority of the public support, some members of his conservative coalition oppose same-sex marriage. Before the July elections, the government promised to hold a popular vote on same-sex marriage to test public support.
But opposition to a plebiscite, the result of which wouldn’t be binding on the Parliament, has been gaining momentum. A small but influential centrist party on Monday joined the country’s third-biggest political force, the Australian Greens, in opposing a popular vote despite supporting legalization of marriage equality.
