Jones’ gay marriage bill will undermine PM: Labor heavyweight

Throsby MP Stephen Jones will undermine Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s leadership with an attempt to legalise same-sex marriage, a Labor powerbroker has warned.Mr Jones, a backbencher and member of Labor’s Left faction, will introduce legislation aimed at amending the Marriage Act to legalise same-sex marriage when Federal Parliament resumes next month.His move comes after last month's ALP national conference voted to reverse the party's long-standing opposition to same-sex marriage.But with Labor MPs allowed a conscience vote on the issue, Mr Jones' bill is doomed to be voted down by the combined forces of its Labor opponents - including Prime Minister Julia Gillard - and the Coalition.Same-sex marriage is supported by the Greens and at least one crossbench MP.But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has refused to allow a conscience vote and has warned Liberal MPs against crossing the floor in contravention of party policy, which opposes same-sex marriage.While Mr Jones will make history as the first ALP member to attempt to legalise same-sex marriage; he will also be the first government MP to introduce a bill that is voted down by his own party.A senior Labor minister told The Age the same-sex marriage bill would deepen factional divisions within the party.''The fact is, everything Gillard does this year is in the orbit of whether she holds authority over party matters,'' the minister said. ''To let the debate of same-sex marriage drag on and play out on the front pages demonstrates she is hamstrung by an owed allegiance to the Right ignoring the will of the party as a whole.''Labor officially adopted same-sex marriage into its party platform when delegates to last month's national conference voted overwhelmingly to support the policy.Mr Jones, the member for the blue-collar seat of Throsby in the Illawarra region in NSW, says he has the support of ministers and of the Left but admits he does not expect the bill - which will propose to amend the Marriage Act to include gay and lesbian couples - to pass the House of Representatives.But he said the prospect of defeat was not a deterrent as the legislation was ''a reflection of the basic Labor Party values of equity and fairness''.''I have not been a crusader on this issue,'' Mr Jones said. ''I came late but it is about how we treat people and the respect we afford their choices.''Mr Jones called on Mr Abbott to allow a conscience vote within the Coalition. "You can never say what will happen, but if Mr Abbott allowed a conscience vote then the bill actually has a real chance," he said."The time has come for the real national debate and he should be a real part of that instead of reflexively saying 'no'."Former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull joined Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham earlier this month in publicly agitating for the conscience vote. Mr Turnbull revealed he had lobbied Mr Abbott for two months in a vain attempt to change the leader's mind.''My view is that we should [have a conscience vote], but it is a matter for shadow cabinet and the party room as to whether we do,'' Mr Turnbull said.