Australia to vote on gay marriage reform after court challenge dismissed
SYDNEY: Australians are set to vote on legalising same- sex marriage, potentially ending years of political stalemate, after the nation’s highest court yesterday threw out two challenges to a voluntary postal ballot.
There is popular support for changes to the marriage laws, but the issue has dragged on for more than a decade amid political wrangling.
In the latest effort to resolve the issue, the conservative government opted for a postal survey after an election pledge to hold a national referendum was twice rejected by the upper house Senate.
But it was challenged by two gay marriage advocacy groups, who said the government had exceeded its powers in funding the ballot without parliamentary approval.
On Tuesday, their challenges were thrown out by the High Court, paving the way for ballot papers to be sent out as scheduled next week, with results known in November.
“We encourage every Australian to vote in this survey, to have their say,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a supporter of samesex rights, told parliament in Canberra after the court ruling.
“As I have said in this House and in many other places, Lucy (wife) and I will be voting ‘ yes’ and I will be encouraging others to vote ‘yes’.”
If the majority of Australians vote “yes”, the government will hold a free vote in parliament on the issue, with MPs not bound by party policy or the postal ballot’s result.
If there is a ‘no’ outcome, there will be no parliamentary vote.
“We are disappointed with the outcome,” said Jonathon Hunyor, the head of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, one of the groups that mounted the challenge. — AFP