Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) (12:33): I seek leave to make a short statement. The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute. Senator RUSTON: The coalition government would have supported this motion; however, we refuse to accept the suggestion that the plebiscite was anything other than a critical and successful component of the process which led to the amendments to the Marriage Act to legislate same-sex marriage. The government therefore cannot agree with a motion with such a negative and historically inaccurate suggestion about the plebiscite. It was ultimately the coalition government, through the successful postal plebiscite process, which facilitated the legislation of this reform.