Nearly 70% of voters in the Queensland electorate of senior minister Peter Dutton would like the parliament to resolve the marriage equality issue, according to new polling obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The results stand against Dutton's recent shifting positions on how to resolve marriage equality — which last week involved the conservative MP joining with former prime minister Tony Abbott to call for a non-binding, postal vote on the issue.
The new polling was conducted by ReachTEL and commissioned by progressive campaign organisation GetUp, which surveyed more than 700 residents of Dutton's home electorate of Dickson last week.
When asked "do you believe the government should allow a free vote for marriage equality in Parliament and resolve the issue?", 69% of respondents responded "Yes", 23% opted for "No", with 8% unsure.
Last week Dutton said a postal plebiscite, which would function as a non-binding, compulsory opinion poll of the country, would be the "next best option" to resolve marriage equality after the government's plebiscite legislation failed to pass the parliament.
"From that point, what's the next best option? In my mind it is a postal plebiscite, which allows the public to have their say,' Dutton said. "There's no doubt in my mind that a postal plebiscite delivers the same policy intent as a plebiscite proper."