MEDIA RELEASE: TERRITORIANS WILL BE SILENCED IN POSTAL PLEBISCITE

23 August 2017

Territorians who live remotely or in town camps will have no voice in the Turnbull Governments offensive postal plebiscite.

As well Thousands of Territorians living in dwellings without letter boxes or personal post boxes will be excluded from voting.

The Federal Governments postal plebiscite proposal is clearly discriminatory.

As Members of the Federal Parliament we know how the postal system fails as an effective means of communication to citizens in remote communities.

There has been no effort by the government to address the logistical needs of the residents of town camps, remote Indigenous communities and homelands in the NT who under this proposal will not have their views heard.

They are being effectively silenced.

Today the NT News released its findings from an online poll it conducted yesterday showing that an overwhelming number of Territorians continue to support marriage equality.

An online poll of more than 2000 people showed 72 per cent - or almost three in four respondents - supported changes to the Marriage Act.

The estimated cost of the postal plebiscite will be $122 million.

The money spent on this hideous approach to marriage equality is the equivalent to 3.3 million visits to the GP, 1906 average teacher salaries and 5282 age pensions.

If Labor is elected, we will legislate for marriage equality in our first 100 days because this is a job that Government can and should be doing.