A new poll shows support for marriage
equality in Australia has weakened.
The news comes as Australians vote on
whether the government should extend marriage rights to gay and
lesbian couples. The government is asking all of Australia's more
than 16 million voters to weigh in on the issue through a postal vote
at an estimated $120 million cost. Results are expected on November
15.
The Australian newspaper over
the weekend published results of a poll conducted by Sydney-based
market researcher Galaxy Research which showed that support for
same-sex marriage had fallen from 62 percent five weeks ago to 57
percent, and opposition had grown 4 points to 34 percent. Nine
percent of respondents did not answer.
Results of the postal survey are
non-binding.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said
that he still expects the “yes” vote will succeed and reiterated
his opinion that the survey is an “amazing waste of money.”
“We all know the survey is an amazing
waste of money,” he told Sky News. “The fact that we've got a
Newspoll survey telling us that we're going to spend $120 million to
find out really highlights the futility of it.”
Green Senator Sarah Hanson blamed the
dip in support on the “no” side's “relentless negative
campaign.”
“When you are trotting out people
like Tony Abbott, who is basically blaming marriage equality for
everything unsavory, for all the terrible things [that] are going to
happen. It's inevitable that that side of the campaign is going to
be given more attention,” she
said.