Same-Sex Marriage and the “No” Campaign

In September 2017, a non-compulsory postal survey seeking Australians’ opinion on marriage equality was launched — a compromise after the Government’s plan to hold a compulsory plebiscite on the issue was voted down by the Senate. There was only one question: Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry? (fig. 1). Same-sex marriage was first explicitly prohibited under Australian law with the Howard Government’s amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 (cth) in 2004, and campaigners have been working tirelessly to bolster public support for reform ever since. Back then, reports held that as few as 38% of Australians supported same-sex marriage; by 2007, the number had risen to 57%.1 By 2016, the number rose again Same-Sex Marriage and the “No” Campaign to 62%.2 Overall, 79.5% of the population voluntarily voted in the postal survey, and 61.6% of respondents voted “Yes”.