Senator James Paterson has given up on his much maligned bill for same-sex marriage, conceding there was more support for the one drafted by Dean Smith.
Paterson’s rival conservative marriage bill would have overridden already existing anti-discrimination laws to allow “religious freedoms” of refusing service to same-sex marriages.
Paterson said he was pleased with the result (he voted yes), and the parliament must now quickly pass legislation.
“The parliament must now quickly pass a bill to legalise same-sex marriage. It is clear the majority of senators believe my colleague Senator Dean Smith’s bill is where we should start,” he said.
“I will now work constructively with my parliamentary colleagues over the coming weeks on amendments to ensure that the strongest possible protections for the freedoms of all Australians are enshrined in the final legislation.”
Of course, there can now be amendments to the Smith bill, and each of the measures in the Paterson bill can be put up and considered one by one. But in the legislative fight, that’s round one for Liberal moderates.
MariannaMerkulo on November 15th, 2017 at 03:37 UTC »
75% YES in Tony Abbott's electorate.
Mynotoar on November 15th, 2017 at 01:59 UTC »
Came here expecting to see a sample size of 1,200 and surveyed in one state.
Fuck was I wrong. Well done Australia!
dashauskat on November 14th, 2017 at 23:11 UTC »
133 of 150 electorates voted yes in the majority, 95 by more than 60%. Just 17 electorates voted no.
7,817,247 people voted yes. 4,873,987 voted no - just 38.4% of the clear responses.
79.5% of people voted. This was “outstanding for a voluntary survey.” All age groups had participation rates above 70%, but slightly more in older age groups. 18 and 19 year olds responded with around 78% participating.