Same-sex postal survey returns on the up again

The ABS has released its weekly update on the stats behind the postal vote — and there’s been another huge jump.

A sticker with a message in support of a Yes vote in the marriage equality postal survey.

About 10.8 million Australians — or 67.5 per cent of eligible voters — have now participated in Malcolm Turnbull’s same sex marriage postal survey, an increase of 800,000 when compared to the previous week.

Last week’s update revealed that 10 million Australians — or 62.5 per cent of eligible voters — had participated in the government’s postal survey.

It is the third weekly estimate provided by the ABS and comes as time runs out for Australians to order a replacement survey if they have lost their form or it has been damaged in the mail.

Requests for replacement forms close on Friday.

SSM result ‘still wide open’: Shelton

Managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, Lyle Shelton, told The Australian the latest ABS updates meant the campaign was still “wide open.”

“There is still one in three people yet to vote,” he said. “It’s definitely not too late for people to have their say.

“The fact you’ve got Labor out today saying that they are not going to protect freedom of speech at all should be enough to motivate anyone who still has a survey still sitting on their kitchen table.

“The so-called religious freedom protections in the Dean Smith bill only cover a very narrow group of Australians.”

Same sex marriage advocates welcomed the Labor decision to support the Smith bill in its current form and limit the religious protections to accompany same sex marriage.

Just.equal spokesman Rodney Croome said the inclusion of extra protections to preserve religious freedoms represented an attempt to prop-up discrimination against people in the LGBTIQ community.

“We would refuse to accept the right to marry under the conditions being proposed by some, more extreme government members,” he said.

“Just.equal and Parents Friends of Lesbians and Gays conducted a nationwide survey of the LGBTIQ community earlier this year and there was overwhelming opposition to marriage with these kinds of caveats.”

“Australians do not want the marriage equality debate to become a vehicle for the latest brand of US-style anti-LGBTIQ hate politics. Equal means Equal.”

“For these reasons we welcome Labor’s decision to draw the line at the religious protections in Senator Smith’s bill.”

No religious protections: Labor

The Labor caucus has decided to resist attempts to insert extra protections for religious freedoms in any bill to legalise same sex marriage should the government’s $122 million postal survey return a Yes vote.

Labor MPs today resolved to push for the passage of West Australian Liberal MP Dean Smith’s private members’ bill in the event of a Yes vote, saying it already provided adequate protections for religious freedoms.

The decision could trigger a fierce new parliamentary battle on the shape of legislation to legalise same sex marriage given the arguments raised during the postal survey warning of the need to guard against political correctness and preserve freedom of conscience.

The Smith bill has been attacked by No campaigners for providing only narrow religious protections around the wedding ceremonies of gay couples as well as service providers who are linked to a religious body.

Liberal senator Dean Smith. Photo: AAP

The Coalition for Marriage has also grounded its campaign against change on the need to introduce broader religious protections to ensure that faith based institutions like schools, adoption agencies and social service providers are not forced to shut down or change their operations.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus told MPs he would prepare a briefing on how religious protections were already in place under existing state and federal laws.

A spokesman for the Labor caucus today said the Opposition would push for the Smith bill to be passed “in its current form” as quickly as possible in a bid to have the issue resolved by the end of the year

“We resolved that it (the Smith bill) would strike an acceptable compromise between achieving marriage equality and protecting religious freedoms,” the spokesman said.

“We noted our position on the conscience vote on this issue and we resolved that, in the event a Yes vote is returned, Labor will push for the government to pass that bill in its current form as quickly as possible.”

Labor determined its position on the postal survey this morning because it was the last full caucus meeting before the results will be reported given next week’s Senate estimates hearings.

The exact wording of the resolution passed by the caucus stated: “In the event a Yes vote is returned on 15 November, Labor will push for the government to pass that bill in its current form as quickly as possible.”

Bill Shorten also spoke briefly on the resolution, saying he wanted to make clear the intention of the Labor Party was to honour the outcome of the vote in the event of a Yes vote by advancing the Smith legislation.

A question was asked in the caucus by one MP about how Labor would respond to questions on religious freedoms, with Mr Dreyfus saying he would prepare a briefing on the protections that “already exist under federal and state law.”