Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Paterson for that question. I join the Attorney-General in welcoming the decision by the High Court of Australia today to confirm the validity of the Australian marriage law postal survey. We have always been confident that the process we adopted to deliver on our commitment to give Australians a say on whether or not the law on marriage should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry was consistent with all the relevant requirements. The Australian marriage law postal survey will now proceed as planned, with the ABS starting to mail out survey forms from 12 September 2017 onwards. The final result will be declared by the Australian Statistician at 11.30 am on 15 November 2017.

The government also intends to move swiftly now with proposed legislation to provide for relevant additional safeguards to complement existing legal protections and to support the fair and proper conduct of the Australian marriage law postal survey. We encourage all Australians on the electoral roll and eligible to vote in an election to have their say by returning their completed survey forms as soon as possible. We encourage all those involved in campaigning for either the yes case or the no case to do so with courtesy and respect. I join the Attorney-General in thanking, on behalf of the government, the Solicitor-General, Dr Stephen Donaghue QC, and his legal team for their hard work and skilful advocacy.