Well, there’s a glimmer of good news in among some of the thoroughly gross shit we’ve been seeing around the same-sex marriage postal vote campaign. According to a Newspoll focused on the vote, 63 percent of Aussies are keen to vote Yes.
It gets even better when you figure in the fact that, of those who say they will “definitely” take part in the postal vote, that figure jumps up to 67 percent voting Yes. After a bitter campaign and the grim spectre of a strongly organised conservative movement, that’s a bit of a welcome salve.
Coincidentally, 67 percent of all voters said they’d definitely be voting – which hopefully puts to bed the problem of a majority of Australians not voting. But you know how it is – ya say you’re going to do something, then you don’t.
The poll also asked respondents if there should be guarantees in law for “freedom of conscience, belief and religion” if the law passes – basically asking whether organisations and individuals should be allowed to deny participation in any part of a same-sex marriage process.
62 percent of those polled agreed with that statement – with support strongest among Labor voters at 68 percent.
Predictably, support for marriage equality was strongest with Greens voters – at 82 percent – and weakest with One Nation voters, who were split down the middle 50/50. It’s still heartening that even among strongly conservative voters they’re not massively against it.
Obviously, this isn’t an invitation to rest on our laurels. It’s still so, so important that you vote – and make sure all like-minded people get in there and vote too. It’s so easy to let a postal vote collect dust on your kitchen counter, so make sure you’re registered and bloody well do it, team.
Seriously. It’s up to us to give the Coalition such a strong result that they’ve got no choice but to do something about it.
