Australians are set to vote on legalizing same-sex marriage, potentially ending years of political stalemate, after the nation’s highest court yesterday threw out two challenges to a voluntary postal ballot.
There is popular support for changes to the marriage laws, but the issue has dragged on for more than a decade amid political wrangling.
In the latest effort to resolve the issue, the conservative government opted for a postal survey after an election pledge to hold a national referendum was twice rejected by the Australian Senate.
Photo: AFP
However, it was challenged by two gay marriage advocacy groups, who said the government had exceeded its powers in funding the ballot without parliamentary approval.
Their challenges were thrown out by the High Court, paving the way for ballot papers to be sent out as scheduled next week, with results known in November.
“We encourage every Australian to vote in this survey, to have their say,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a supporter of same-sex rights, told parliament in Canberra after the court ruling.
“As I have said in this House and in many other places, Lucy [his wife] and I will be voting ‘yes’ and I will be encouraging others to vote ‘yes,’” Turnbull said.
If the majority of Australians vote “yes,” the government will hold a free vote in parliament on the issue, with lawmakers not bound by party policy or the postal ballot’s result.
If there is a “no” outcome, there will be no parliamentary vote.
“We are disappointed with the outcome,” said Jonathon Hunyor, head of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, one of the groups that mounted the challenge.
“But we now need to focus on ending discrimination against same-sex couples and making marriage equality a reality,” he said.
The voluntary postal vote was strongly opposed by many gay marriage supporters, who said it would be expensive and divisive, subjecting gay people and their families to hate speech.
Ahead of the court’s decision, there were early signs the debate could turn toxic, with a poster emblazoned “stop the fags” put up in Melbourne.
There were also fliers describing homosexuality as “a curse of death” distributed in suburban Sydney, sparking calls by the government for a respectful debate.
The government said safeguards would now be introduced via legislation to “support the fair and proper conduct” of the survey, which could include tighter advertising restrictions.
Australia’s highest-profile gay politician, Labor Senator Penny Wong, opposed the ballot along with her party, but said it was time to make marriage equality a reality.
“We didn’t want to be here, but now we are here, let’s win it. Let’s get it done,” Wong told reporters.
A leading group behind the “yes” vote, the Equality Campaign, said it would be “hitting the ground running with hundreds of thousands of supporters talking about why marriage equality matters.”
Meanwhile, a key voice backing the “no” vote, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), said it would continue its campaign to inform Australians about the “consequences of changing the Marriage Act for them and their family.”
This would include what ACL managing director Lyle Shelton said would be the impact of the reforms on religious freedom and the rights of parents on whether their children would be taught “radical” gay programs in schools.
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