Australian gay rights groups welcome same-sex marriage hurdle

Same-sex marriage advocates are celebrating after a national vote on the issue was blocked

Plans to hold a national vote in Australia on legalising same-sex marriage were blocked by the opposition on Tuesday.

But for many supporters of same-sex marriage, this was a cause for celebration.

While they want the law to change, they argued holding a non-binding plebiscite would be expensive, and risked unleashing homophobic rhetoric.

The government has accused the opposition of playing political games.

The Senate will still vote on whether to hold the plebiscite, but after the opposition Labor said they would not back it, it is doomed fail, and the issue is unlikely to be unresolved in this term of parliament.

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'Sheer hate'

"I think the plebiscite was one of the filthiest political blockages to equality ever considered by an Australian government," said Greg Turner.

The dual national, 56, married his partner Ryan, 61, at the British High Commission in Canberra in 2014, but their relationship is currently not recognised by the Australian government.

That would change if Australia's Marriage Act was amended to replace "a man and a woman" with "two people".

"I don't want to wait - and in our situation we're getting older," he said.

"But the sheer hate and the extreme views and horrific public statements made by some people, I'd hate to see that get worse."

A passer-by walks past posters campaigning in favour of same-sex marriage

'We have families'

A survey of 5,500 LGBTI Australians conducted in July by advocacy group Just Equal found that 85% opposed holding the plebiscite.

The proposal found opposition from LGBTI people among men and women, across all age groups and in every state and territory.

The research also said 62% would rather wait until marriage equality can be voted on by parliament, without the need to put it to the public.

Georgina Hibberd, 42, and Liz Forsyth, 35, who have a 13-year-old son tied the knot in Hawaii several years ago.

Ms Hibberd told the BBC she was concerned that a repeat of the widespread homophonic rhetoric that appeared during Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum was too high a price to pay for same-sex marriage.

"We have families, this is not the kind of thing we want our families to have to listen to every day," she said.

"I can handle it, I've done it all my life but my son - that's another matter."

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'It's time'

Corey Sinclair, editor of the Star Observer gay and lesbian a national magazine, was also pleased that the national poll on same-sex marriage had been blocked.

"The LGBTI community has been quite vocal about its opposition to the plebiscite so this news is music to sore ears," he said.

"For too long we have been preached to by the heterosexual majority about our rights and it's time for our elected representatives to do what they were elected to do."

Revellers cheer on the parade at Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras earlier this year

National mood

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on Wednesday maintained his criticism of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is personally in favour of same-sex marriage but has refused to allow his party a free vote on the issue.

Mr Shortern said the "national mood will not be deterred" because Mr Turnbull is "scared" to ask the more right wing members of of his Liberal Party to vote themselves.

"We know they want to delay it for their own reasons. The national mood is for marriage equality," he said.

However, in parliament, the prime minister brushed aside the opposition's calls to allow a conscience vote.

"If they want gay couples to get married, vote for the plebiscite," Mr Turnbull said.

"The door is open. The reality is the Labor Party wants to play politics with this issue much more than they want same-sex couples to get married.

"You're putting politics ahead of the interests of gay couples."