Listings attempting to sell same-sex marriage postal votes on online marketplaces such as eBay and Gumtree have already been taken down today, amid concerns from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
After the High Court challenge to the upcoming nationwide postal survey on marriage equality was thrown out yesterday, a number of people have since gone online to make a quick buck outta democracy/not giving a shit about other people’s human rights.
One eBay listing reported by the ABC asked for a whopping $1500 in exchange for the postal form, writing:
“What is this plebiscite worth to you. The reason I’m selling my vote is because either way I don’t care but thought there are people who do.”
The post has been taken down by eBay.
Meanwhile the infamous Zaky Mallah – he who made death threats against parliamentary officials, but was acquitted on terrorism charges in 2005/still managed to ask a question and make a divisive comment about Islamic State on ‘Q&A’ in 2015, thus sparking ~national controversy~ – tried to chuck his postal vote on Gumtree for $600, before it was taken down this afternoon.
At the end of 2015, Mallah attempted to sell the marijuana leaf hat he wore on ‘Q&A‘ on eBay, and was trolled mercilessly and deservedly for his efforts.
In the Gumtree listing, Mallah wrote:
As an Australian Muslim who has many straight (Muslim and non Muslim) and gay (Muslim and non Muslim) friends, I have decided not to take part in this vote out of respect for both sides.
I love my straight and gay friends equally. So I’m sitting on the fence with this one. Hence, the paper is up for grabs.
People from both sides of the campaign have come out to denounce the sellers, including Australians for Equality‘s Tiernan Brady and the Australian Christian Lobby‘s Lyle Shelton.
Brady described the vote as a “serious discussion about real people’s lives“, while Shelton said the sellers’ actions “trivialise what is a very important decision for the Australian nation“.
Meanwhile it’s the ABS who are currently in the midst of discussions with online marketplaces such as eBay, Gumtree, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba to crack down on these listings.
In a statement they said:
To date eBay and Facebook have confirmed listing survey forms or survey responses for sale would not comply with their policies and they will block and remove any such listings.
They also told Buzzfeed that sending in a postal survey that you’ve bought off someone who cbf could be a criminal offence under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 or the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
Here’s some simple advice: don’t do this.
