Barrie Cassidy: Plibersek's pitch will fail

ABC ANALYSIS: Friday 01 May 2015 Why Tanya Plibersek's gay marriage pitch will fail Analysis by Barrie Cassidy Tanya Plibersek wants to bind Labor MPs to a party position on gay marriage, but the tactics are all wrong and could actually jeopardise moves in that direction. Labor's Deputy Leader has been accused of raising the issue only because her electorate has a high proportion of gay people, and the Greens, as a party committed, driven and united behind marriage equality, present as the only danger to her re-election. Her motives have also been linked with the leadership. Beyond that, her frustration is understandable. Despite a succession of opinion polls showing majority support for the move, the issue has been allowed to drift for years. But the party's national conference will resist the call. The tactics are wrong - it would release the pressure on Tony Abbott to grant his side a conscience vote. And already merely raising the issue has shown how divisive it can be. As voting patterns change, parties need to be more diverse. The broad church imperative grows, not diminishes. That means, at times, foregoing discipline for flexibility; being more open to conscience votes, not less so. Read more. Barrie Cassidy is the presenter of the ABC program Insiders. He writes a weekly column for The Drum. For more analysis and opinion, visit The Drum. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe to NewsMail. About this email: You received this email because you are subscribed to ABC News email alerts and set Politics as a preference. This message was sent to you at starnewsposting@gmail.com This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Manage your preferences | Unsubscribe | Contact Us Australian Broadcasting Corporation 700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 © 2015 ABC | Conditions of Use | Privacy Policy