Australia has voted to change the definition of marriage to include same sex marriage.
12,727,920 million or 79.5 per cent of eligible Australian’s voted. 7.8 million voted yes and 4.9 million voted no. Australia has voted for the definition of marriage to be changed.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) returned their results at 10 am on Tuesday 15 November.
After the chief statistician David Kalisch read the results, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made a statement in which he made a commitment to make the change official before Christmas. He also affirmed he had achieved “equality and a fair go after everyone had their say.” He then praised the ABS good work. The ABS reported the survey was conducted under budget.
Interestingly, the statistics across all states and territories showed high participation in all age groups but the majority of Western Sydney participants voted No. Western Sydney is predominantly conservative and historically votes against change.
Mathias Cormann stated he aims to ensure the government will accommodate the legitimate concerns of Australians who desire religious protection.
PM Turnball and MP Cormann sent a clear message of “Freedom of speech, religion, and the will of the Australian people.”
Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten announced “Australia is ready for marriage equality.”
No vote supporter MP Eric Abetz from the seat of Franklin stated he “regrets the decision, but respects it.” He supports the Paterson bill which he believes provides for the yes and no voter. He seeks to ensure protection for classical Liberal values. Malcolm Turnbull says the Smith bill is a good start but amendments will be debated.
Text: Abigail Nash
Abigail Nash is an editor for W’sup and has worked on the web site since 2017 and the print edition for 2018 and 2019. As a postgraduate student and mother of four she enjoys writing and research particularly in the area of Science education.
