Australia voted YES in the same-sex marriage postal survey. The ABS announced the results on Wednesday morning to high emotion and jubilation around the country.
A crowd of hundreds gathered in Brisbane in Queen’s Park to hear that 61.6% of the country voted YES including 60.6% of Queenslanders.
The Equality Campaign’s Shirleene Robinson stood alongside her wife Sarah. She told the Brisbane crowd Australia resoundingly voted for equality after more than a decade of campaigning.
“It’s incredible to see such strong support for LGBTI rights across the country voting to include every Australian in our marriage laws. This is truly a unifying moment for the nation.”
“For more than a decade, our campaign has worked hard to bring Australians together to achieve this reform and ensure all Australians are treated with the same dignity and respect.
“A fair go is at the heart of Australian society and our laws should reflect the values of which we are most proud.”
Brisbane couple Scott and Brad, who were also in Queens Park to watch the result, said they were getting married next September.
“For years we’ve felt like we’ve had to hide our sexuality,” Brad said.
“It’s the most unbelievable thing to have Australia back you in such large numbers across the nation.”
Bill Rutkin
Veteran equality campaigner Bill Rutkin spoke of the emotion he felt reflecting on Australia’s progress on LGBTIQ rights.
“It’s almost 50 years since the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) began in Queensland.
“I was the youngest member, and we eventually set up the CAMP Club on 379 George Street. I almost burst into tears thinking about how far our community has come.
“We still need the politicians to do their bit but we’ve finally found our place in our sun.”
The Brisbane event was just one of several major marriage equality parties held around the country, as thousands gathered to celebrate the announcement of the result.
The results
The ABS’ chief statistician David Kalisch announced the final count in the survey was:
YES: 7,817,247 – 61.6%
NO: 4,873,987 – 38.4%
Every state and territory had a majority ‘Yes’ vote of more than 60% with the exception of New South Wales at 57.8%.
The ABS also said 12,727,920 of the 16 million eligible voters had had their say, a huge 79.5 percent return.
You can see a full electorate breakdown of the vote at the ABS website here.
A greater percentage of people participated than in Brexit, UK general election, Irish #MarriageEquality referendum & the US Presidential election! #YES
— AU Marriage Equality (@AMEquality) November 15, 2017
What happens next?
It is now up to our Members of Parliament to transform the majority view into legislation so Australia joins the 24 countries worldwide where same-sex marriage is legal.
A cross-party group of senators – led by Liberal Dean Smith and including Labor’s Penny Wong and also Greens leader Richard DiNatale, among others – will introduce a private member’s bill to the upper house on Wednesday.
Debate on the bill is set to start on Thursday, amid fierce debate around exemptions allowing religious organisations and service providers to refuse same-sex weddings.
The Equality Campaign’s Alex Greenwich said: “Parliament still has to pass Australia’s unequivocal mandate for equality into law. And you can be sure we’ll hold them to that – we expect a timely vote on a fair and simple bill, this year.
“But for now we celebrate YES.”
Cross party Senators unite to call for fast action after SSM postal vote #auspol 📷by @CooperJed pic.twitter.com/ra8YbtUoAS
— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) November 15, 2017
For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
