Just got this from Australian Marriage Equality:
A new poll released today shows a majority of Tasmanians believe same-sex couples should be able to marry, and a majority support Tasmania being the first state to enact the reform.
The poll of 1000 people conducted by EMRS Research and commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality was almost entirely completed before Premier Lara Giddings made her announcement that Tasmania will be the first place in Tasmania to allow same-sex couples to wed*.
Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said,
“These results vindicate Lara Gidding’s decision to move ahead on marriage equality.”
“Tasmanians can see that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this landmark reform.”
The poll found that 61% of Tasmanians believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry (up from 59% in September last year), while 54% believe the state should go ahead with its own marriage equality laws.
There was majority support for marriage equality in each region of the state, with strong support among young people aged 18-34 (85%) women (68%) and people raising children (72%).
Young people also strongly support Tasmanian-specific marriage equality laws with 78% of those aged 18-34 saying they want Tasmania to be the first state to act.
“High youth support for Tasmania leading the way on marriage equality shows that this reform will be a defining moment for an entire generation of Tasmanians”, Mr Croome said.
Support was very high among Green and Labor voters (88% and 74%) but divided among Liberal voters (43% in favour vs 49% against with 9% unsure).
Mr Croome said the key result for the political parties to consider is that a majority of undecided voters – who make up a decisive 25% of the electorate according to an EMRS poll released yesterday – support marriage equality (59%) and support Tasmania taking the lead (52%).
“What this poll shows is that Labor’s support for marriage equality will help them attract the undecided voters they need to stay in power.”
“By the same token, one of the best ways for the Liberals to attract the undecided voters they need to win government is to soften their hard line against reform and grant of a conscience vote.”
“This is consistent with a national Galaxy poll released on Monday which shows that there is a net gain of voters for the federal Liberal Party if it allows a conscience vote on marriage equality.”
*According to EMRS, 85% of the responses were collected before the announcement. The remaining 15% of responses had no discernible impact on the result.
Find more articles and gay wedding resources in Australia.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook. We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
