Australia on Tuesday launched a postal vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage as a widely watched poll indicated the country would be overwhelmingly in support.

Of the eligible Australians who expressed a view on this question, the majority indicated that the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry, with 7,817,247 (61.6%) responding Yes and 4,873,987 (38.4%) responding No. Nearly 8 out of 10 eligible Australians (79.5%) expressed their view.

Same-sex marriage has been on the political agenda in Australia for several years, as part of the broader debate about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The expansion of legal rights and protections afforded to same-sex couples in Australia is well developed at both federal and state level.

Opinion polls. A June 2004 poll conducted by Newspoll showed that 38% of respondents supported same-sex marriage in Australia, with 44% opposed and 18% undecided.. In June 2007, a Galaxy Research poll conducted for advocacy group GetUp! measured the opinions of 1,100 Australians aged 16 and over and found that 57% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, 37% were opposed and …

A new push within Coalition ranks to hold a free vote in parliament on same-sex marriage by the end of the year has been dealt a blow by a special Newspoll showing Australian voters have swung in behind a national plebiscite.

Today, in a world first, a postal survey on same-sex marriage will be sent to 16 million voters across Australia. It represents the collective failure of the major political parties, riddled with