The Australian 14 Sept 2013
Same-sex marriage was a low priority for most Australians when voting last Saturday, with jobs, healthcare, education and border security clearly the top issues. Same-sex marriage ranked ninth overall as an issue of importance, with only 13 per cent of voters putting it in their top three priorities.
People on higher incomes, university graduates, the non-religious, women and ALP and Greens’ voters were the strongest supporters, with Coalition voters, lower income earners, men and those with trades the least.
Kevin Rudd and the Greens campaigned strongly for changing the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage. Tony Abbott and the Coalition had a policy of opposing changes to the act and avoided the issue during the campaign.
Greens and Labor voters, particularly young voters, women and those who said they did not have a religion, were the strongest supporters of change. According to a survey conducted by JWS Research for the Australian Christian Lobby after the election the issue ranked as important among 28 per cent of Greens voters and 15 per cent of ALP voters. Coalition voters showed little support, with only 4 per cent of Liberal-National voters saying the issue was important, less than those supporting paid parental leave and changes to the fringe benefits tax.
While Mr Abbott faces pressure to change the act from the Labor-Greens government in the ACT, there is little support among Coalition voters and less support among men, those with household incomes under $100,000, those aged over 55 and those without a university degree.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/voters-cool-on-same-sex-unions/story-fn9qr68y-1226718868853
