The government postal survey on marriage equality is going ahead. It's not what we, our partners and the LGBTQ community were hoping for but to win it, we need everyone to vote yes! Yes, for equality; Yes, for fairness; and Yes, for love!
The government are asking Australians to vote on the issue of same-sex marriage via a postal survey. The postal survey will ask a single question and that question can only be answered with a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’. The question that will be posed in the survey is: Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?
It doesn’t really. The postal survey is essentially a plebiscite, except it is voluntary and happens via post, rather than in person at a polling booth. Like a plebiscite, the results are non-binding and the Government is not legally required to enact the result.
Unfortunately, a bill still needs to pass in parliament for marriage equality to be successful, regardless of the result of the survey. However, if a YES vote wins, the government has said it will allow its MPs a free vote - that means all members and senators can vote however they like - on a private members’ bill for same-sex marriage. Many government MPs have pledged to follow the result of the postal plebiscite or use it as a guide.
If the NO vote wins, the government will not allow a free vote on a bill for marriage equality and will try to stop a private members’ bill for same-sex marriage going to the Parliament. So it is really important that the YES vote wins!
Yes, but only if EVERYONE who supports marriage equality, votes. We know that more and more Australians are supporting marriage equality, however, that support won’t count unless they actually vote!
Australians are used to compulsory, in-person elections. There’s a risk that people will be confused by the process or will simply forget to post their ballot! If we can encourage all marriage equality supporters to vote, love will win and we will win a YES vote!
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Follow these two steps to help Australia to get this done and make sure love wins. When love wins, we all win!
For more details or to find out how else you can help support the campaign, visit our partner’s website, the Equality Campaign, here.
