Responding to Crikey’s report from this week about the Australian Christian Lobby asking George Brandis to make sure its ads will be aired in the lead-up to a plebiscite on marriage equality, a law firm has explained why the ACL is after a law change.

Saying it’s something they’ve been asked by other lobby groups, Marque Lawyers’ Hannah Marshall and Michael Bradley said in an email this morning that a lobby group could not, under current laws, do anything about stations choosing not to air its ads:

“If it’s election time, then there are broadcasting licence rules requiring that TV stations give all political parties contesting the election a reasonable opportunity to broadcast their election material. But otherwise, if it’s not election time, if you’re not a political party contesting an election, and your content isn’t ‘election matter’ – e.g, soliciting votes at an election or advocating a party contesting an election or its policies, then the answer is no.

“That means that lobby groups like the ACL, who are not political parties, can never force TV stations to air their political ads.  Even political parties only get the benefit of these rules for about a month before an election.

“A plebiscite is not an election.  That means that under the current rules, the TV stations would have no obligation to air any ads relating to it regardless of their source.”

As we pointed out on Tuesday, there are conditions in the Ad Standards Board’s codes about vilifying minorities. Some networks, like SBS, have in the past chosen not to air political advertising against gay marriage.