THE diocese of Sydney has formed a coalition with the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Sydney and conservative groups to campaign for a “No” vote in the forthcoming Australian plebiscite on same-sex marriage.

“Coalition for Marriage”, which is said to represent 80 groups, is led by the two bodies, together with the conservative Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) and the organisation Marriage Alliance.

The Australian government is holding a non-compulsory non-binding postal ballot on whether the Australian Marriage Act should be changed to permit same-sex marriage, after it lost a Parliamentary vote to legislate for a compulsory plebiscite. The ballots will be posted on 12 September. The result is expected in mid-November.

In a statement from the ACL posted on the website of Sydney diocese, the organisation’s managing director, Lyle Shelton, has linked the issue of same-sex marriage to free speech, and “the impact on what our kids are taught at school”.

A coalition of Christians from across the Churches has formed “Christians for Marriage Equality”, who will campaign for a “Yes” vote in the ballot.