Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is coming under renewed pressure to drop plans for a plebiscite on same-sex marriage as prominent LGBTIQ Australians join a new campaign calling for Parliament to block a national vote.
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Comedian Magda Szubanski, Olympian Matthew Mitcham, singer Foustina Agolley, writer Benjamin Law and former Australian Medical Association boss Kerryn Phelps are among nearly 200 Australians who have signed up to the new campaign, arguing the plebiscite will be damaging to vulnerable people and pointless because it won't bind members of Parliament.
Actor Simon Burke, opera singer Deborah Cheetham, radio host Julie McCrossin, Uniting Church minister Reverend Peter Weeks, retired rugby player Ian Roberts and former Australian Marriage Equality convenor Peter Furness have also joined the campaign on Monday, auspiced by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and new lobby group Just Equal.
The campaign calls for MPs to be given a free vote in Parliament to legislate for same-sex marriage.
Cabinet is expected to consider plans for the plebiscite on Monday, while an online petition organised by Australian Marriage Equality calling for a free vote has attracted more than 50,000 signatures.
The new campaign says signatories support marriage equality but are opposed to a plebiscite, warning there is significant risk that a "yes" vote will not see same-sex marriage reforms because some conservative MPs won't vote according to the plebiscite results.
PFLAG national spokeswoman Sharyn Faulkner said community leaders had combined to stop the plebiscite.
"This reflects the views of everyday LGBTIQ Australians who overwhelmingly oppose a plebiscite under any circumstances according to a recent survey that was the largest of its kind ever conducted."
"We call on the Senate, and particularly the Labor Party, to listen to the LGBTIQ community and vote against a plebiscite."
Just Equal spokesman Ivan Hinton-Teoh said same-sex marriage advocates were concerned about what could be lost in the plebiscite campaign.
"We ask parliamentarians from all parties to work together for a free vote in parliament," he said.
"In Parliament robust debate can occur in a way that does not divide families and communities, and does not harm LGBTIQ Australians.
"Marriage equality can be considered, debated and achieved within this term. The government should work with the opposition and cross benchers to make it so."
