Federal Member for O’Connor Rick WIlson has confirmed he will not vote against any legislation to amend the Marriage Act to include same-sex marriage.
In the federal electorate of O’Connor 56.2 per cent of voters responded yes to the survey, which was the lowest percentage in the state.
Mr Wilson said that although his personal belief is that the traditional definition of marriage should be upheld, he wouldn’t “stand in the way of the will of the public”.
“Since we announced the Government’s intention to put this decision to the Australian people, my position has been that I will act in accordance with the will of my electorate,” Mr Wilson said.
“Given that the O’Connor electorate has returned a majority ‘Yes’ result, I will not be voting against any legislation to amend the Marriage Act.”
However Mr Wilson raised the possibility of abstaining from voting on the bill if religious protections are not included.
“I will be working with my colleagues from all sides of Parliament to ensure we produce a bill that respects the rights of groups and individuals who hold religious or similar beliefs,” he said.
“If the legislation put before Parliament does not contain adequate protections for religious groups, be it churches, schools, charities or otherwise, I will not support that bill and I will abstain from voting.”
