On Tuesday, Labor frontbencher Penny Wong  spoke about the upcoming plebiscite during the Lionel Murphy Memorial Lecture at the Australian National University.

Senator Wong continues to be vocal against the planned plebiscite, saying that it would encourage hate speech.

“A plebiscite designed to deny me and many other Australians a marriage certificate will instead license hate speech to those who need little encouragement,” she said on Tuesday.

“Mr. Turnbull, and many commentators on this subject, don’t understand that for gay and lesbian Australians hate speech is not abstract. It’s real. It’s part of our everyday life,” she said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull continues to defend his decision to follow through on former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s plebiscite proposal.

Turnbull has stated that opposition leader Bill Shorten is “running a scare campaign” against the plebiscite. He also stated that Shorten “should have more respect for the decency and common sense of Australians.” His comments came days after Shorten described the plebiscite as “a taxpayer-funded platform for homophobia.”

Senator Wong said she isn’t opposed to a plebiscite out of doubt for the Australian people’s good sense, rather, she stated, “I oppose a plebiscite because I don’t want my relationship, my family, to be the subject of inquiry, of censure, of condemnation, by others.”

She spoke about the fear many LGBTI Australians still feel today simply by holding hands in public. “Many gay and lesbian people don’t hold hands on the street because they don’t know what reaction they’ll get. Some hide who they are for fear of the consequences at home, at work and at school.”

Continuing her speech, Senator Wong said, “Not one straight politician advocating a plebiscite on marriage equality knows what that’s like; what it’s like to live with the casual and deliberate prejudice that some still harbour.”

Concerns about the plebiscite continue to be brought to light. An official date has yet to be set but the Prime Minister has said it will be held as soon as practicable following the general elections.