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It is a momentous day for the nation with Australians overwhelmingly voting yes for marriage equality.
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That support was matched in the local electorates of Cowper and Lyne.
Sixty per cent of 95,810 marriage equality survey participants in Cowper voted yes, while 55.3 per cent of 92,955 participants in Lyne showed their support.
The announcement was made at 10am on November 15 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Australian public has said yes and I fully intend to facilitate a vote in parliament where I will be voting yes.
- Luke Hartsuyker, Member for Cowper
Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker said the postal survey results were conclusive.
"I think the result was expected, with an overwhelming yes, both nationally and in the electorate of Cowper.
"The Australian public has said yes and I fully intend to facilitate a vote in parliament where I will be voting yes," Mr Hartsuyker said.
Member for Lyne, Dr David Gillespie said he was pleased that in his electorate, 81 percent of voters responded to the survey.
"I have always said that as a Federal Member of Parliament, I would always respect the majority view within my electorate in determining my position on this issue, regardless of my own personal views.
"I look forward to now dealing with the legislation that facilitates the will of our electorate and the Australian people with the religious protections that have been committed to throughout the debate leading up to the completion of this survey," Dr Gillespie said.
It is a shame the survey doesn’t automatically now mean same sex couples can marry, and that it is up to our politicians to make it happen, but with a strong result hopefully it happens really soon.
- Kobi Coulter, Port Macquarie resident
The reaction on the street in Port Macquarie was positive with residents spoken to by the Port News agreeing there is now an urgency for politicians to act.
“The result is amazing, I was kind of expecting more people to have voted yes, but it is still a great result,” Kobi Coulter said.
“It is a shame the survey doesn’t automatically now mean same sex couples can marry, and that it is up to our politicians to make it happen, but with a strong result hopefully it happens really soon.”
“Yay for yes, it is about equality because love is love,” Teagan Farquhar said.
“If two people are happy and want to get married then they should be able to. Nothing will change in my life and at the end of the day it is about people being happy,” Emily Boxhill said.
ACON, NSW’s leading LGBTI health organisation, has warmly welcomed the ‘yes’ result as a huge step forward for LGBTI equality in Australia, according to ACON president Justin Koonin said
“As an organisation that has openly and proudly supported marriage equality in Australia, ACON is heartened to see LGBTI people receive so much support from the Australian public,” Dr Koonin said.
“This is an encouraging outcome that we hope will finally pave the wave for marriage equality.”
Dr Koonin said the protracted public discourse on marriage equality has had a detrimental effect on people’s health.
“Over the past few months, our communities have been subjected to an unnecessary and divisive debate, which has caused many people distress.
"Research show that LGBTI people experience higher levels of depression, anxiety disorders, self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide compared to the general population. These health conditions have been exacerbated by this harmful debate, which has caused segregation and may have led to poorer health outcomes,” he said.
ABS same-sex marriage survey results declared in Canberra: