Last week, we shared the news that the Australian government was planning to hold a mandatory nationwide vote on marriage equality.

Though many criticized the idea of holding a federal referendum on same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and his Coalition party argued that it was the only democratic way to resolve the matter and set forth to use their majority in Parliament to legitimize the national vote.

Since the announcement, however, several parties have voiced their opposition to the measure, including the Australian Greens and, most recently, Labor, the current Opposition Party in Parliament.

Labor leader Bill Shorten made a statement on Sunday in which he suggested that his party would not support the national referendum on marriage equality if it were to come to a vote.

“I’m worried Malcolm Turnbull will just stuff it up," he stated. “He stuffed up the republic referendum, he stuffed up the NBN and he stuffed up Senate reforms when he promised to fix it.”

By "stuff it up," Shorten refers to his party's fear that Turnbull won't pour enough resources into the "yes" side of the campaign, which will allow the incredibly well-organized and well-funded "no" side to march away with a victory.

Shorten further questioned why Australian citizens would be fined if they didn't participate in the vote while parliamentarians were permitted to abstain, and why the phrase "marriage equality" would not appear anywhere on the voting form.

In spite of Shorten's foreboding press conference, Turnbull appeared optimistic in an interview on ABC's Insiders Program Sunday night:

There is no question that the fastest way, the way you guarantee that there is a vote in the parliament on gay marriage...is to support the plebiscite. Personally I have no doubt the plebiscite will be carried, and the same sex marriage legislation will sail through the parliament.

The worst argument, the absolutely worst argument against a plebiscite is to say that it wouldn’t be passed. So if Labor is seriously saying that, they are saying, ‘Don’t consult the Australian people because they won’t give you the answer you want.'

It is the most anti-democratic argument.

What's ironic in Turnbull's logic is that the actual fastest and most efficient way to ensure that marriage equality passes would be for him to put forward a bill on the matter and allow parliament to have a free vote.

Since both Labor and Coalition support marriage equality, it would likely pass, yet Turnbull remains committed to the idea of allowing the Australian people to decide.

If Labor does indeed join the dissent in Parliament, there would be a sufficient majority to block the plebiscite, which would all but guarantee that marriage equality would be stalled for another three to four years.

h/t: Towleroad