in fact there is a distinct global shift in attitudes to the populist right. If we'd had a plebiscite this wouldn't even be in the news.
Not on marriage rights for same sex couples. I haven't heard the Brexit campaigners or the Trump administration seeking to overturn their respective countries marriage laws.
Australia is now one of the last Western democracies to not have Same Sex marriage. Even places like Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and Mexico, hardly bastions of human rights have it. We were one of the first countries to have women's suffrage, and we are going to look like turkeys soon if we don't allow marriage for same sex partners.
I'd expect the Liberals at the next federal conference to call for a change to a free vote to take to the next election, a majority of them probably support it anyway and one of the biggest opponents (Bernardi) is gone. So I'd expect it to be legalised around 2019.