Right: despite rallies like this one, a direct and free vote in Parliament on marriage equality will not now take place unless preceded by a plebiscite - and, according to many, not even then.
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Background information
(Much of the information presented below has been abbreviated from the Museum of Australian Democracy and the AustralianPolitics.com Internet site.
The key information can be accessed at http://moadoph.gov.au/blog/referenda-and-plebiscites-whats-the-difference/ and http://moadoph.gov.au/blog/referenda-and-plebiscites-whats-the-difference/http://australianpolitics.com/democracy/key-terms/representative-government)
Differences between a plebiscite and a referendum
1. Voting in referenda is compulsory. This is not always the case with a plebiscite; however, in the instance of the proposed plebiscite on same-sex marriage, voting will be compulsory.
2. It is harder to have a proposition passed via a referendum than it is a plebiscite. In a referendum, for a proposition to pass, it has to be accepted by a majority of Australians overall and majority of the states and territories. For a proposition to be accepted in a plebiscite, all that is usually required is an overall majority.
3. Referenda are binding on the government. This means that if a proposition is accepted in a referendum, it must be supported by the Parliament. A plebiscite is sometimes called an 'advisory referendum' because the government does not have to act upon its decision.
4. Referenda are required for any change to the Constitution or for legislative proposals that would have Constitutional implications. Plebiscites, on the other hand, do not deal with Constitutional questions but with issues on which the government seeks popular approval to act, or not act.
Representative government
The Australian political system is one in which the people elect members of Parliament to represent them; hence we have a system of representative government.
These representatives meet in Parliament and perform a number of functions:
they decide who will govern;
they make laws;
they debate issues;
they make representations on behalf of their constituents to the government and the public service;
they monitor the expenditure of public money and the actions of the government.
The big advantage of representative government is that it allows the citizens of even very large countries to have some influence on their rulers.
However, there is the problem of whether elected representatives should act merely as a relay mechanism for the views of their constituents, or whether they should act more independently, utilising their knowledge and skills to lead their constituents to a more informed decision that is better for the greater good of the community.
Will a plebiscite result in the popular will being enacted?
If current opinion polls are accurate, a majority of Australians are in favour of same-sex marriage. If a majority of Australians vote in favour of same-sex marriage in a plebiscite then the government has promised to put legislation before the Parliament to amend the Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry.
However, the result in the plebiscite is not binding on MPs. If legislation amending the Marriage Act is ultimately put before the Parliament, MPs are not bound by the result in the plebiscite.
The Australian Electoral Commission will also provide a breakdown of the plebiscite result based upon federal electorates and states. This might lead to MPs voting on the amending legislation based upon the result in their electorate or state.