The Australian Christian Lobby has thanked Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for playing a "helpful" and "important" role in its plan to stop same-sex marriage, after Labor committed to blocking the Turnbull government's proposed plebiscite.
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ACL managing director Lyle Shelton, one of the highest-profile campaigners against marriage equality, enthused that Mr Shorten had delivered "the gift of time" to same-sex marriage opponents by torpedoing the planned February 11 public vote.
"We have a plan to win the marriage debate and yesterday Bill Shorten played an important and helpful role in that plan," he wrote in an email to supporters.
"We now have more time to continue building our campaign, more time to build our coalition, and more time to win the hearts and minds of millions of Australians.
"Make no mistake, Bill Shorten is playing politics with this issue. Yet he has unwittingly given our side of the debate the gift of time."
Mr Shelton called on ACL supporters to open their wallets and donate to "ensure we make the most of the time Bill Shorten has given us". It echoes the view of conservative Coalition MPs such as George Christensen, who previously said that if Labor blocked the plebiscite, "that suits me, it will suit a lot of other conservatives as well".
Publicly, the ACL was a vocal supporter of the plebiscite, and on Tuesday issued a press release declaring its disappointment at Labor's decision to "shut out" Australians from having their say on the issue, labelling the decision "perplexing".
Labor finally made an official call on the plebiscite at a caucus meeting on Tuesday, agreeing unanimously to block the proposal in the Senate, ensuring it will not proceed. Mr Shorten said the plebiscite was expensive, non-binding and would subject gay and lesbian people to a hateful campaign by opponents.
He rejected the argument that Labor has effectively killed off marriage equality for the duration of this Parliament, remaining "optimistic" that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will somehow be moved to allow a free vote despite the vehement opposition of conservative backbenchers.
"I am optimistic when you ask about plan B," Mr Shorten said on Wednesday. "The national mood will not be deterred because Mr Turnbull is scared of the right wing of the Liberal Party.
"The national mood is for marriage equality. We will get this parliamentary vote and we will have marriage equality and we will keep working at it."
But one of the roadblocks to that is the Coalition agreement between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the National Party prescribing a plebiscite rather than a free vote, and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce showed no sign of backing down on that pact.
Mr Joyce ruled out a free vote on same-sex marriage in this Parliament during an ABC radio interview on Tuesday night. But he also said threats by Nationals MP Andrew Broad to bring down the government and sit on the crossbench if there was a free vote were "obviously not helpful ... you can't really operate like that".
Labor senator Penny Wong said the community would "keep the pressure on" the Turnbull government to change its tune, and called on Liberal MPs who support same-sex marriage to break from the party's position.
But there is little sign of that taking place, with even veteran Coalition gay rights advocate Warren Entsch vowing not to cross the floor or push the issue any further if the plebiscite fails. "I'm done if they vote it down," he told Fairfax Media.
