The Greens say all politicians should be given a conscience vote when a bill to extend equal marriage rights to all couples is debated in Parliament next Thursday.

The bill was introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young last year and was considered by a Senate committee.

Senator Hanson-Young says the bill will finally be debated in the Senate next week.

Both Labor and the Coalition are opposed to changing the marriage act to allow for same-sex marriages.

But Senator Hanson-Young says 60 per cent of the public support same-sex marriage and that should be reflected in the debate.

"Many private members bills do just sit on the shelf because they don't get the time allocated to them in the chamber - I'm very thankful that we've been able to get the time to debate this bill," she said.

"It's a really important issue - 60 per cent of Australians support the idea of removing discrimination in the marriage act.

"I'm calling on Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd to allow their members to speak freely on the issue and to have a conscience vote. It's important that our parliamentarians represent the wills and needs and desires of their communities and on this issue more than ever."

Source : http://www.abc.net.au