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15th Nov 2017

Australia votes in favour of legalising same-sex marriage

The public have made it known what they want from their government

Rory Cashin

Following in the footsteps of the Irish, the Australian public have voted in favour of same-sex marriage.

However, unlike the Irish marriage referendum, this vote was not a legally binding one, but it is the strongest indication on the issue of what the people of the country want from their government.

There was a 79.5% turnout for the vote, with 7,817,247 of the ballots cast saying yes, and 4,873,987 opposed.

The yes vote won in all six of the Australian states.

 

The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had some words to say following the announcement of the vote:

“Australians have voted yes for fairness, they have voted yes for commitment, they have voted yes for love. Now it’s up to us here in the Parliament of Australia to get on with it, to get on with the job the people have asked us to do and get it done this year, before Christmas.”

“That must be our commitment. I know that many people – a minority obviously – voted no. But we are a fair nation – there’s nothing more Australian than a fair go, than equality, than mutual respect.”