Australian court clears way for gay marriage poll

Australia’s highest court has cleared the way for the government to conduct a public survey on whether gay marriage should be legalised.

Gay rights advocates had argued in the High Court that the government did not have the power to conduct the A$122 million (£75m) postal survey without Senate approval, but the court dismissed that challenge.

Opinion polls show most Australians want samesex marriage legalised, but many advocates question how representative of attitudes the postal survey would be. They want Parliament to decide the issue without consultation with the public.

The government has already begun printing the ballot papers, which are to be mailed to more than 16 million voters nationwide starting on Tuesday.