Tag Archives: Australia

Moments ago the top officer in Australia’s federal statistics bureau revealed that the result of the non-binding postal survey on same-sex marriage is a landslide WIN for the YES side by 24 points. Members of Parliament are expected to quickly introduce a marriage bill that could see legalization in place as soon as Christmas. But…as always…the haters will try every …

The highly-anticipated result of Australia’s non-compulsory postal survey on same-sex marriage will be announced at 6PM New York City time, which is 10AM tomorrow in Sydney. Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: The man with the golden envelope, containing the final tally, will be Australian Statistician David W. Kalisch. Ahead of the public announcement, Mr Kalisch will inform Finance Minister Mathias …

The Guardian reports: The government “would not countenance” legalising discrimination against same-sex weddings and a bill to do so would have “virtually no prospect” of passing parliament, Malcolm Turnbull has said in an extraordinary rebuke of conservatives demanding the rollback of anti-discrimination laws. As conservative Coalition MPs and senators rallied around the same-sex marriage bill released on Monday by Liberal …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: He is the global trotting, career public servant with an eye-watering pay packet who tries to fly under the radar. But on Wednesday morning, at the dot of 10, all eyes will be on Australia’s numbers man-in-chief, David W. Kalisch. Grandly titled the “Australian Statistician”, Mr Kalisch heads the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and …

The Guardian reports: Almost half of Australians believe service providers should have the right to refuse same-sex weddings on the basis of their religious views, a poll has found. The Lonergan Research poll of 971 people found that 49% believed that service providers who refused same-sex weddings based on their religious views should be protected by law, compared with 35% …

Australia’s News Corp outlet reports: And now, it’s over to the vote counters, and the politicians. The $122 million same-sex marriage survey closes tonight, with final Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealing 12.6 million Australians voted in the poll. With just hours until the survey closes, that’s a return rate of 78.5 per cent as of last Friday. The final …

Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network is weighing on Australia’s marriage battle in typical fashion, giving voice to the extremist Party For Freedom, which typically rails against blacks, Muslims, refugees, and immigrants. Australia’s Party For Freedom is an offshoot of Dutch extremist Geert Wilders’ party of the same name and their stunts included “storming” Muslim-friendly Christian churches while dressed as Muslim …

Just in via email: My name is Alfie Arcuri and I’m the first openly gay winner of The Voice Australia. I am big fan of your blog and it would be awesome if you had the time to share my video Love is Love.  I am a strong advocate for the gay and lesbian community and I perform and dedicate …

The West Australian reports: Conservative MPs believe up to 100 amendments are needed to a same-sex marriage Bill being proposed if the Yes vote succeeds, posing a major test for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he seeks to manage an emerging partyroom split. With expectations growing that the Yes vote will be successful next month, conservative MPs are preparing a …

The Guardian reports: Cory Bernardi does not accept there will be an overwhelming “yes” vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey, with more than 70% of forms returned. The Australian Conservatives leader said he believed people were pressured by political correctness and were saying they voted “yes”, even if they had voted “no”. “I’m not even conceding defeat quite frankly,” …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Gay couples – but not straight ones – will be able to marry for free in some of the City of Sydney’s most prominent buildings and parks, in a move that will outrage the progressive council’s conservative critics. A motion passed on Monday night will allow same-sex couples to hire community facilities, halls and parks …

HuffPo Australia reports: Former Prime Minister and current backbencher Tony Abbott will once again address a controversial American Christian organisation which has been deemed a “hate group” and supports the criminalisation of homosexuality. The Australian Financial Review revealed on Thursday that Abbott, the member for Warringah, will travel to the United States later this month to deliver a speech to …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Finding the same-sex marriage debate heavy going? Well, it may surprise you to find out New Zealand’s been through all this already. Which is why, on the eve of the November 7 postal survey vote deadline, our friends over the “ditch” have decided to give us some sage advice. This tongue-in-cheek “Open Letter to Australia” …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Several Sydney clerics are in revolt over the Anglican Church’s decision to donate $1 million to the “no” campaign on same-sex marriage, declaring themselves shattered and disappointed. Archbishop Glenn Davies revealed the donation at the opening of the 51st Synod on Monday, declaring same-sex marriage “unwarranted”. “The stakes are high and the cost is high,” …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Australians appear to be unmoved by anti-same-sex marriage warnings of creeping gender ideology, social destruction, or sexual confusion, with the case for change surging ahead. With more than a month to go in the government’s controversial postal survey, an aggregation of public polling and some recent unpublished research shows the “yes” case for legalising same-sex …

The Guardian reports: The US rapper, Macklemore, issued a call for equality after an emotional performance of his hit single, Same Love, in a much-hyped pre-game show at the NRL grand final. The performance at ANZ Stadium in Sydney follows a bizarre week in which the hip-hop artist became the focus of national attention due to his decision to play …

From a press release published today by Christian Newswire: Australia is in the middle of a government mandated postal survey to decide the future of marriage between a man and a woman. The polls are predicting a defeat for those who believe in the biblical definition of marriage. Australian Christians are asking for prayer from all over the world for …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Calls from politicians, including a former PM, and others to ban US hip hop artist Macklemore from singing his hit Same Love at the NRL grand final have seemingly backfired, with the song shooting to the top of the Australian iTunes charts. Despite being first released in 2012 by the Seattle-based rapper and his co-writer …

The Guardian reports: A robocall in which Cory Bernardi warns marriage equality will lead to “radical gay sex education” is set to target 1m homes. In several interviews on Thursday, Bernardi has confirmed the robo-call campaign slated for South Australia and Victoria, first revealed by Nine News. He has said that Australian Conservatives will pay for the exercise but declined …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Former prime minister Tony Abbott has backed a call from same-sex marriage opponents to ban American rapper Macklemore from performing his pro-gay song Same Love at the NRL grand final. Former player Tony Wall, who played first grade briefly in the mid 1990s, is petitioning NRL boss Todd Greenberg to halt the half-time performance and …