Mon 15 Nov 2010 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
An Australian survey has found attitudes towards gay men and women have become much more liberal at a national level, but anti-gay sentiment remains ingrained in politically sensitive areas such as Sydney's west and south-west, pockets of Melbourne's south-east and in regional Queensland. The survey was released as Parliament begins debating a Greens' motion on same-sex marriage today. Roy Morgan Research data shows areas with the most positive attitudes include inner-city electorates such as Sydney's inner-west and affluent Liberal seats such as Wentworth and North Sydney, as well as Melbourne's Kooyong and Higgins. The Australian reports seats with the most negative attitudes include Liberal and Nationals country strongholds and some working-class Labor seats in big cities' outer suburbs. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is sticking to her party's policy of keeping the Marriage Act's definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. But Labor's Left faction supports recognition of gay marriage while some Right faction members have recently said they favour a policy change. Among a raft of questions asked in the Roy Morgan poll was if respondents believe homosexuality is immoral. The proportion believing it is immoral has fallen from 36 percent in 2001 to 27 percent.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 15th November 2010 - 5:59pm