Telstra appears to have backed away from publicly supporting marriage equality following pressure from religious groups.
The telecommunications network provider said it has no plans to feature in the public debate over same sex marriage, saying "The Aus(tralian) people and Parliament will make a decision on marriage equality".
The news sparked surprise, support, upset and ridicule from customers and observers:
The Australian newspaper on Wednesday revealed the Archdiocese of Sydney wrote to corporations whose logos featured on a full-page Australian Marriage Equality advertisement in May last year, implying it would withdraw its custom.
“You may be aware that the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney is a significant user of goods and services from many corporations, both local and international,” business manager Michael Digges reportedly wrote in the letter.
“Undoubtedly, many of the Catholic population of Sydney would be your employees, customers, partners and suppliers. It is therefore with grave concern that I write to you about the Marriage Equality for Australians campaign.”
Telstra customers have experienced a tough couple of months, with the network hit by four outages since March.