It’s official, the proposed plebiscite will not go ahead.

It has been confirmed that Labor MP’s and Bill Shorten have voted against the Turnbull government’s answer to marriage equality. This means that the legislation will not be passed through the Senate, and the Turnbull government will not be able to go ahead with the February plebiscite.

Mr Shorten said this morning that he had not heard a good argument for the plebiscite and reiterated that the only way forward is via a free vote in the government.

Australian Marriage Equality co-chair Alex Greenwich passed comments today, saying that a vote would be “very tight”. Despite the opposition of the Coalitions right wing, Greenwich is optimistic that a free vote can be achieved in this term of Parliament. He called on the Labor senators to ensure that they voted in accordance with the policy adopted at caucus.

Last night, the government released their proposed changes to the Marriage Act. It revealed that the changes would allow marriage celebrants, church owned businesses and religious bodies to be exempt from anti-discrimination laws, meaning that they would have every right to deny their services to same-sex couples. The proposed changes included the definition of marriage from being between a “man and a woman” to “between two people”.