This essay will discuss the need to amend the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth), the inadequacy of de facto status as sole recognition …show more content…
This information eliminates any evidence suggesting same-sex couples are content with de facto status or have no interest in marriage. The survey found that 54.1 percent of same-sex participants prefer marriage, and approximately 80 percent believe marriage should be legalised in Australia. Results found that over 65 percent of those under 20 years, and more than 62 percent of those under 30 years selected marriage as their personal preference. The number of votes within each age bracket is unknown. (Dane S., 2009) This increasing support for same-sex marriage runs parallel with the increasing number of countries legalising same-sex marriage and the number of same-sex supporters. Legalising same-sex marriage will increase the number of foreign same-sex couples who visit Australia. This is economically advantageous, promoting tourism, generating more jobs, and income for …show more content…
Federal Parliamentarians face a challenge when voting on same-sex marriage reform. The Australian Liberal Party, has no individual conscience vote on same-sex marriage, albeit unknown reasons. This means that all Liberal MP’s must vote against the topic due to party policy. According to the Liberal Party’s recent in-house pollster, it has been found that 80 percent of swing voters support same-sex marriage. This places pressure on Prime Minister Tony Abbott, to allow his MP’s an individual vote on the issue. (Ireland J., 2014) If there was to be a free vote, it is plausible to assume that this may shift Parliament in support of same-sex marriage and thus encourage