Same-sex marriage results show how out-of-touch politicians are with constituents
WESTERN Sydney voters have resoundingly rejected the push to legislate gay marriage, ABS figures show. This is despite the majority of their locals MPs being among the strongest advocates for marriage equality, writes SHARRI MARKSON.
NSW
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WESTERN Sydney voters have resoundingly rejected the push to legislate gay marriage, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.
Twelve of the 17 federal electorates that did not support same-sex marriage nationally are in Sydney’s west and south-west, where cost of living pressures are putting families under financial stress, and a greater proportion of the population are religious and hail from ethnic backgrounds.
The ABS results show the west and south-west seats of Labor MPs Ed Husic, Linda Burney, Tony Burke, Chris Bowen, Michelle Rowland and Anne Stanley overwhelmingly rejected the move to give gay couples the right to marry under the Australian constitution.
The majority of these MPs have been the strongest advocates for marriage equality. They have been deaf to the views and values of the very people they claim to represent.
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The lowest support in NSW for marriage equality was recorded in Blaxland, held by Labor MP Jason Clare, with just 26 per cent voting yes.
In this electorate, 30 per cent of the population are Islamic and 20 per cent are Catholic.
In a quarter of homes the main language spoken is English, while Arabic is spoken in 20 per cent of households, followed by Vietnamese in 9.7 per cent of homes.
The majority, 53.8 per cent, are a couple family with children, and another 25 per cent are a couple family without children.
About 14 per cent are from Lebanese ancestry and 11 per cent are Chinese.
In other seats, 43 per cent backed gay marriage in Barton, held by Labor MP Linda Burney, while the result was lower in Chris Hayes’ south-west seat of Fowler with 36 per cent support.
In Chifley, held by Mr Husic, 41 per cent of voters supported gay marriage.
Mr Husic previously said he detected no mood for changing the marriage act in his area, then changed his mind and pledged to support gay marriage.
Michelle Rowland’s seat of Greenway had 46 per cent voting yes, Mr Bowen’s seat of McMahon had 35 per cent yes voters.
Many of these seats have a high ethnic and religious demographic, where gay rights are not recognised.
Only two of the 12 electorates that rejected gay marriage are held by Liberal MPs — Banks, held by Liberal MP David Coleman where 44 per cent supported it, and the north-west seat of Mitchell, held by assistant Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, where there was 49 per cent support.
In the seat of Bennelong, where a high-profile contest is underway between former premier Kristina Keneally and Aussie tennis champion John Alexander, 49.8 per cent of voters supported gay marriage.
Warringah, the seat of former prime minister and vocal No campaigner Tony Abbott, had among the highest support for gay marriage, with 75 per cent of voters backing the rights for gay people in love to get married.
NSW seats with majority No vote:
Banks — 55.1%
Barton — 56.4 %
Bennelong — 50.2%
Blaxland — 73.9%
Chifley — 58.7%
Fowler — 63.7%
Greenway — 53.6%
McMahon — 64.9%
Mitchell — 50.9%
Parramatta — 61.6%
Werriwa — 63.7%
Watson — 69.6%
LIBERAL SEATS SUPPORT SSM MORE THAN LABOR
Interestingly, analysis of the ABS results by the ABC’s Antony Green showed the support for gay marriage was higher in Liberal seats than Labor.
This was in contrast to the overall position the political parties took on marriage equality, where Labor advocated for a free-vote in Parliament while the Liberal Party insisted on fulfilling its election pledge to take the decision to the Australian public.
Mr Green’s analysis showed 61.7 per cent of voters in majority Labor seats supported gay marriage compared with 63 per cent in Liberal seats.
In National-held seats, 56.8 per cent backed gay marriage compared with 59.8 per cent in LNP seats.
Yet, the divide was not between city and country voters.
In fact, there was quite high support for marriage equality in regional areas, with 64 per cent supporting the Yes vote, Mr Green’s analysis showed.
In outer metropolitan areas, the level of support for gay marriage fell to 58 per cent, while it was 67 per cent in inner metropolitan electorates.