It's a Resounding YES to Same Sex Marriage

BY JESSICA ROUSE AND SARAH JAMES

Across the country the result of the same sex marriage postal survey is a resounding Yes.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced the results this morning which saw 61 per cent of voters vote Yes and 38 per cent vote No.

The Australian Capital Territory returned the highest majority of Yes votes with 74 percent, and New South Wales returned the least with 57.8 per cent.

133 electorates voted yes, 95 of those electorates had a majority of 60 per cent; of the 17 electorates who voted No, 6 of those electorates had a 60 percent majority of No votes.

YES Campaigners with Tiernan Brady in Newcastle earlier this year.

The statistics become more interesting the more you break them down, females were more likely to respond to the survey and those voters aged between 25 - 29 years old had the lowest participation rate compared to the 70 - 74 age group being the most likely to respond to the survey.

Now it's expected two private member's bills will be put before parliament. Both are from Liberal members including one from West Australian senator Dean Smith.

Some Conservatives want strong religious protections, but other MPs say the bill can't threaten anti-discrimination laws. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has endorsed a bill co-signed by Labor and the Greens which will leave religious protections to the mercy of the Senate.

How did Novocastrians vote?

The Newcastle electorate responded overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage, with 74.8% of people voting Yes.

This meant Newcastle had the fifth-largest majority of Yes voters in the country.

Paterson, Shortland and Hunter returned similar results, with 65.5%, 67.7% and 64.4% voting yes respectively.

"What an exceptional result. It certainly demonstrates just how strongly the public believes in equality for all, and particularly here in Newcastle, how supportive our community is of the diversity of our region," said Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen.

Declan Clausen thanked the work of volunteers who campaigned for the Yes vote, ensuring people were enrolled and got their vote in.

"I was extremely pleased to see the huge number of volunteers that were out every day of the week and on weekends in the leadup to the closing of the survey, making sure people had the opportunity to return their vote and have a say," he said.