The day after sharing his family's story of tragedy in reply to the federal government's proposed Religious Discrimination Bill, Whitlam MP Stephen Jones has indicated he would vote in favour of the bill.
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On Wednesday, the Labor caucus resolved to put forward amendments to the bill in the House of Representatives but that if these amendments were not accepted the party would vote in favour of the bill.
Jones said that without the numbers in the lower house to amend the bill, the party would have to seek to amend the bill in the Senate.
In his original speech, Mr Jones said that he hoped that parliament could consider the bill in its broader context.
"I know there will be many people who are listening who will want me to conclude with the words, 'Let's dump this bill'. But I'm not saying that. I'm saying let's take a step back."
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Jones said that he thought the opposition had a good chance of securing the amendments in the Senate.
"We'll be insisting that the bill doesn't pass without them, and if all of that fails, then we're making a rock solid guarantee to sort it if we win government at the next election," said Mr Jones.
Commenting on Labor's support for the bill in the lower house, Mr Jones said that he and the party supported the overall intent of the bill to prevent religious discrimination and wouldn't vote against the bill as a whole in the House of Representatives.
"We're committed to changing it. That's what we're going to be putting all our effort into, not glorious defeats," he said.
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