The Coalition's promise to give Australians a say on whether same-sex marriage should be legal changed from a planned compulsory plebiscite to a voluntary postal survey, sparking anger from same-sex marriage supporters. Michael Kirby, a former judge of the High Court, who is gay and a same-sex marriage supporter, described the postal survey as "unacceptable" and "irregular". "This isn't a plebiscite now. It's a completely novel, voluntary, non-binding, non-compulsory vote of a few citizens and it's just something we've never done in our constitutional arrangements of Australia," he said on ABC Radio. RMIT ABC Fact Check found Mr Kirby is correct. The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey ' as it is formally known ' is not a plebiscite. It will ask people whether or not the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry. It is voluntary and non-binding, and, indeed, "completely novel". Normally, Parliament would legislate on matters within its power without directly consulting the people. But the same-sex marriage issue has been referred to the people by way of a national survey and this is unusual. Furthermore, not only does the survey have no legislative underpinning, it is being conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a body that does not normally conduct national ballots. This too is unusual.
Verdict: Correct