Former prime minister had accused government of failing to deal with religious freedom before postal surveyMalcolm Turnbull says John Howard could assist the government in “fine-tuning” the exposure draft for any same-sex marriage legislation if the postal survey returns a yes vote. “I am sure John will make an enormous contribution,” the prime minister told Sky News on Friday. But Turnbull said the government would protect religious freedom and the question had already been considered thoroughly by a parliamentary committee last year. The prime minister said Abbott’s assertion that Paris was only aspirational was “not, in fact, the case”. Turnbull signs Coalition statement urging marriage equality yes vote Read moreAbbott said during the interview that he would have won last year’s election against Bill Shorten if he had been leading the Liberal party.

Source: The Guardian September 15, 2017 02:15 UTC