Bid to defer Stephen Jones' same sex bill

Throsby Labor MP Stephen Jones has been asked to shelve his landmark same-sex marriage bill to give the Liberal Party time to consider giving their MPs a conscience vote.Advocate group Australian Marriage Equality released a statement yesterday asking Mr Jones to hold off on his bill until the body had a chance to lobby Liberal MPs on the issue.Labor MPs were given the right to a conscience vote last month, while their colleagues in the Liberal Party still have to vote for the official party policy, which is against same-sex marriage.This means Mr Jones' bill would face almost certain defeat if introduced early in the year.Australian Marriage Equality national convener Alex Greenwich said the Liberals were only just beginning to properly debate the issue and to rush into a vote too early would only antagonise MPs who might otherwise support reform."It should be clear to anyone that if a conscience vote is not allowed by the Coalition it won't get up," he said."If Labor's intention is to play politics with our lives by introducing a bill prematurely then the ALP remains as much a hurdle to reform as the Coalition."Mr Greenwich said he had been in contact with Mr Jones over the issue, but was unable to speak to him before releasing the statement yesterday. Mr Jones did not return calls yesterday.The issue has proved divisive for Mr Jones, putting him at odds with Prime Minister Julia Gillard as well as Labor Party members in his own electorate.Last month, Wollongong MP Noreen Hay moved and won a motion against Mr Jones' stance in an internal party vote.The issue has aggravated factional differences in the Illawarra.Ms Hay and Mr Jones occupy senior positions in the party's rival left and right factions.Mr Jones is convener of the parliamentary left faction while Ms Hay is parliamentary leader of the right faction.