Results of a two-month nationwide survey show a majority of the public supports lifting a ban on same-sex marriage. The result is set to intensify a divisive debate about how to enshrine marriage equality into law.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AAP/D. Moir
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Tears, glitter and rainbows: Australians celebrate 'Yes' vote
The results, which showed 61.6 percent of voters are in favor of a change in the law versus 38.4 percent opposed, were released at 10.00 a.m. local time (23.00 UTC), and came after more than a decade of wrangling over whether to follow almost every developed country in overturning a ban on gay marriage.
All states agreed
The ABS said every state and territory overall voted "Yes." Only 17 constituencies, known as electorates, in the whole country voted "No."
Henry Belot, Federal Politics Reporter for Australia's public broadcaster ABC, tweeted the results breakdown, showing the largest "Yes" majority was seen in the Australian Capital Territory, the federal district in which Canberra lies, and the state of Victoria — home to the city of Melbourne.
The two-month postal vote was called by Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull, who vowed to quickly introduce parliamentary legislation to equalize the country's marriage laws, if a majority of the public approved of the move.
Speaking after the results were announced, Turnbull said Australians had "spoken in their millions" and had "voted overwhelmingly yes for marriage equality." He said it was up to parliament to "get on with the job" and pass the new legislation.
New law by end of year
Australian media said the result means that same-sex couples may now be able to marry by Christmas.
Rallies attended by thousands of marriage equality supporters in several Australian cities roared with cheers when the result was announced.
"This means everything, this means everything," said one man, Chris, who fought back tears and hugged his partner Victor at a huge rally in Sydney.
After Germany made a historic vote to legalize same-sex marriage, we look at the actors, musicians and celebrities who have already tied the knot with their same-sex partners.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
David Furnish and Elton John
Elton John, right, and his longtime partner David Furnish embrace after their first wedding, a civil partnership ceremony in Windsor, England, in 2005. But in 2014, the couple - who have two sons - tied the knot for a second time following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Britain, which accorded them full marriage rights. "For this legislation to come through is joyous," said Sir Elton.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison
When Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster gave birth to two sons in 1998 and 2001, her partner was producer Cydney Bernard, the co-parent of her children. After that relationship ended, the very private Foster finally came out in 2013 and a year later tied the knot with actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison, former partner of Ellen DeGeneres.
Image: Imago/ZUMA Press
Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef
While singer and actor Ricky Martin had not publicly revealed his sexuality until 2010, he is now engaged to Jwan Yosef, a Syrian-Swedish painter of Kurdish origin. Martin, whose family still lives in Puerto Rico, is planning a big international wedding in his home country - same-sex marriage has been legal in Puerto Rico since 2015 as it's a territory of the United States.
Image: Imago/ZUMA Press/A. Ruiz
Ellen deGeneres und Portia de Rossi
After coming out in 1997, the American comedian Ellen DeGeneres was shunned by the television industry until her award-winning talk show "Ellen" began in 2003. A year later, she began a relationship with Australian actress Portia de Rossi, and in 2008 the couple married in Los Angeles - which was possible after the California Supreme Court overturned the state's bans on same-sex marriage.
For five years the American actor Neil Patrick Harris and actor-chef David Burtka kept their engagement secret. But when same-sex marriage was recognized in New York in 2011, they tweeted their looming marriage joyfully to the world. Already the parents of twins Gideon and Harper, the actors married in Italy in 2014, after more than 10 years together - and wore tuxedos designed by Tom Ford.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Lauren Morelli and Samira Wiley
Samira Wiley, star of "Orange Is the New Black," and Lauren Morelli, a writer and producer of the same hit TV series set in a female prison, were married in March after getting engaged a year earlier. Wiley announced the engagement on Instagram, where she showed off her ring - more recently, she posted an image on the social media site that read: The Future is Queer.
Image: Imago/Independent Photo Agency
Michael Kors and Lance LePere
Fashion guru Michael Kors and longtime partner and colleague Lance LePere tied the knot in New York in 2011 at a private ceremony on a Southampton beach in the Hamptons. "To marry someone as wonderful and special to me as Lance barefoot on a glorious beach is more than I could have dreamed of," Kors said. It all became possible after New York legalized same-sex marriage that year.
Image: Imago/Future Image
Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni
"Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon and fiancee Christine Marinoni, an education activist, were engaged at a New York rally demanding same-sex marriage rights in 2009. After these rights were granted two years later - the year Marinoni gave birth to their son - the couple were married in New York in 2012.
Image: Getty Images/Glashuette Orig/C. Bilan
Lance Bass and Michael Turchin
Lance Bass, former singer in boy band 'N Sync, and partner Michael Turchin became the first same-sex couple to get married live on American TV. The "Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding" special aired in 2015, two years after the couple were engaged.
Image: Imago/ZUMA Press/Admedia
Miriam Meckel and Anne Will
The well-known German TV presenter and television journalist Anne Will had already been with the communications expert Miriam Meckel for many years before making the relationship public in 2007. Since August 2016, the two have lived in a registered civil partnership, but with the impending change of law in Germany they could soon consummate their union with marriage.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
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Liberal Senator Eric Abetz, a leading campaigner against the law change, said in a statement that the result "is a decision that I regret but respect."
The nationwide survey caused accusations of misleading on both sides of the debate. One defender of the status quo accused the Australian Medical Association of taking sides by suggesting that same-sex marriage is a public health issue.
The "No" campaign focused on traditional family values, religious reasons for maintaining the ban and the wider question of how gender should be taught in schools.
Massive response
Almost 80 percent of the population — some 12.6 million people — responded to the non-binding postal survey which asked whether the ban on same-sex marriage should be lifted.
But even before the results were released, a row erupted over whether any new law would downgrade the country's anti-discrimination laws.
Turnbull has backed a bill that would allow churches to refuse to officiate same-sex marriage, which is likely to attract broad parliamentary support. But several MPs in his conservative coalition want the legislation to extend the exemption to businesses and individuals with a "religious or conscientious belief."
Equality campaigners have insisted the government proceed with a "fair" law that supports true equality.
