gay marriage, lgbti rights, marriage equality, same sex marriage
Q. Same-sex marriage has now been legal in Australia for two years (since December 2017). To what extent do you think allowing same-sex people to marry has had a positive or negative impact on Australia?
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strong positive impact | 24% | 28% | 18% | 43% | 22% |
| Somewhat positive impact | 23% | 27% | 24% | 22% | 10% |
| Neither positive, nor negative impact | 38% | 33% | 43% | 27% | 38% |
| Somewhat negative impact | 7% | 5% | 8% | 4% | 10% |
| Strong negative impact | 8% | 7% | 8% | 5% | 21% |
| NET: Positive impact | 47% | 55% | 42% | 65% | 31% |
| NET: Negative impact | 15% | 12% | 15% | 8% | 31% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
same sex marriage, Voting Same Sex Marriage
Q. Do you think people of the same sex should or should not be allowed to marry?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote Other | Oct 2015 | Mar 2016 | Jul 2016 | Aug 2016 | Jun 2017 | Jul 2017 | ||
| Should be allowed to marry | 61% | 72% | 55% | 74% | 42% | 59% | 64% | 58% | 62% | 60% | 63% | |
| Should not be allowed to marry | 26% | 17% | 32% | 18% | 46% | 30% | 26% | 28% | 27% | 26% | 25% | |
| Don’t know | 13% | 11% | 13% | 9% | 12% | 11% | 10% | 14% | 12% | 14% | 12% |
61% thought that people of the same sex should be able to marry and 26% thought that they should not. Women (66% support) were more likely than men (56%) to support same sex marriage. 81% of 18-24 year olds supported same sex marriage, compared to 46% of over 65 year olds. These results are similar to those of polling over the last few years.
same sex marriage, Voting Same Sex Marriage
Q. How do you think a decision on legalising same sex marriage should be made?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Should be allowed to marry | Should not be allowed to marry | ||
| A vote in Parliament where politicians can vote according to their conscience or party policy | 23% | 28% | 22% | 39% | 18% | 29% | 12% | |
| A national vote which is binding on Parliament | 50% | 49% | 54% | 33% | 57% | 53% | 56% | |
| A non-binding national vote which is followed by a vote in parliament where politicians can vote according to their conscience or party policy | 9% | 9% | 9% | 11% | 11% | 8% | 15% | |
| Don’t know | 17% | 14% | 15% | 17% | 14% | 10% | 17% |
50% of respondents want a national vote that is binding on Parliament, 23% want a vote in Parliament without a national vote and only 9% want a national vote followed by a vote in Parliament.
Those most likely to favour a vote in Parliament without a national vote were Greens voters (39%), aged 65+ (32%), university educated (29%) and those who support same-sex marriage (29%),
Note – previous poll questions were asked with 2 options – Should be decided by Parliament 29%, Should have a national vote 59%, Don’t know 12%. (last polled July 2017)
Q. Do you think the issue of same sex marriage should be decided by Parliament or should there be a national vote?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
Should be allowed to marry |
Should not be allowed to marry |
|||
|
Should be decided by Parliament |
22% |
29% |
20% |
20% |
24% |
25% |
19% |
||
|
Should have a national vote |
66% |
62% |
69% |
73% |
68% |
69% |
68% |
||
|
Don’t know |
12% |
9% |
11% |
7% |
8% |
6% |
13% |
66% favour a national vote on same sex marriage and 22% think the issue should be decided by Parliament.
Support for a national vote is over 60% for all key demographic groups and similar for those in favour and those opposed to same sex marriage.
Q. Regardless of your opinion about same-sex marriage, do you think it is likely or unlikely that the laws will be changed in the next few years to allow same-sex marriage?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote Other |
Feb 2015 |
|||
|
Total likely |
69% |
69% |
72% |
79% |
62% |
56% |
||
|
Total unlikely |
20% |
20% |
19% |
13% |
28% |
28% |
||
|
Very likely |
31% |
35% |
26% |
44% |
32% |
15% |
||
|
Likely |
38% |
34% |
46% |
35% |
30% |
41% |
||
|
Unlikely |
14% |
16% |
13% |
12% |
12% |
22% |
||
|
Very unlikely |
6% |
4% |
6% |
1% |
16% |
6% |
||
|
Don’t know |
11% |
11% |
8% |
8% |
11% |
16% |
69% think it is likely that the laws will be changed in the next few years to allow same-sex marriage and 20% think it is unlikely.
This is a substantial shift since this question was asked in February.
Those thinking it likely that the laws will be changed has increased 13 percentage points and those thinking it is unlikely has declined 8 percentage points. While expectations that the laws will be changed has increased across the board, it has increased most with Liberal/National voters – from 52% to 72%.
Q. Do you think political parties should treat the issue of same-sex marriage as a matter of personal conscience or as a matter of party policy?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
Should be allowed to marry |
Should not be allowed to marry |
|||
|
Personal conscience |
58% |
65% |
55% |
68% |
61% |
68% |
47% |
||
|
Party policy |
19% |
18% |
26% |
16% |
14% |
16% |
29% |
||
|
Can’t say |
22% |
18% |
20% |
16% |
25% |
16% |
24% |
58% think that political parties should treat the issue of same-sex marriage as a matter of personal conscience and 19% as a matter of party policy. 65% of Labor voters and 68% of Greens voters think it should be a matter of personal conscience compared to 55% of Liberal/National voters. Those in favour of same-sex marriage are more likely to think it should be a matter of personal conscience.
Q. Do you think people of the same sex should or should not be allowed to marry?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
Nov 2010 |
Jul 2011 |
Sep 2012 |
Oct 2013 |
Jun 2014 |
Dec 2014 |
Feb 2015 |
|||
|
Should be allowed to marry |
59% |
70% |
49% |
93% |
39% |
53% |
54% |
55% |
57% |
60% |
55% |
59% |
||
|
Should not be allowed to marry |
30% |
21% |
38% |
3% |
51% |
36% |
35% |
36% |
31% |
28% |
32% |
28% |
||
|
Don’t know |
11% |
9% |
13% |
4% |
9% |
11% |
11% |
9% |
12% |
12% |
14% |
13% |
`
|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Aged 18-34 |
Aged 35-54 |
Aged 55+ |
||
|
Should be allowed to marry |
59% |
54% |
64% |
69% |
57% |
51% |
|
|
Should not be allowed to marry |
30% |
34% |
25% |
21% |
31% |
38% |
|
|
Don’t know |
11% |
12% |
10% |
10% |
12% |
11% |
59% agreed that people of the same sex should be allowed to marry and 30% think they should not. This represents little change since this question was previously asked in February.
Support for same sex marriage is 54% among men and 64% among women. 69% of under 35’s support same sex marriage – while those aged 65+ are split 43% in favour/43% against.
Q. If a political party or candidate supported same-sex marriage would you be more likely to vote for them, less likely to vote for them or does it make no difference to your vote?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote Other |
||
|
Total more likely |
34% |
46% |
21% |
78% |
16% |
|
|
Total less likely |
22% |
15% |
28% |
2% |
41% |
|
|
Much more likely to vote for them |
17% |
25% |
9% |
39% |
7% |
|
|
A little more likely to vote for them |
17% |
21% |
12% |
39% |
9% |
|
|
A little less likely to vote for them |
7% |
6% |
9% |
1% |
10% |
|
|
Much less likely to vote for them |
15% |
9% |
19% |
1% |
31% |
|
|
Makes no difference |
40% |
36% |
49% |
19% |
42% |
|
|
Don’t know |
4% |
3% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
34% say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate/party that supported same sex marriage,
22% say they would be less likely and 40% say it would make no difference to their vote.
Those more likely include aged 18-34 (48%) and university educated (39%). Those less likely include aged 65+ (31%).