Chisholm MP Julia Banks says it's wrong to assume people voted in line with their ethnicity. Credit:Wayne Taylor In the seat of Wills in the north of Melbourne, voters delivered the "yes" vote a thumping majority. The electorate counts more older members of the Lebanese diaspora, Orthodox churches, and Pakistani migrants than almost any other part of the country. Seventy per cent of voters turned out in favour of marriage equality. "There wasn't a big song and dance about it," said local MP Peter Khalil. "It was a quiet support."

Wills MP Peter Khalil says there was "quiet support" for marriage equality. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Mr Khalil, a Coptic Christian, said community leaders had spent time explaining that protecting the rights of the church meant protecting the rights of all – including the LGBTIQ community. "Some priests even understood the argument that protecting religious freedom was tied to this," he said. Moreton MP Graham Graham Perret was one of the first backers of the same-sex marriage legislation. Credit:Bradley Kanaris Mr Khalil said religious institutional funding for the "no" campaign in Sydney that had helped push the "no" vote to 75 per cent in electorates such as Blaxland, were virtually non-existent in Melbourne.

"There was nowhere near the level of church involvement," he said. Liberal MP Craig Laundy's seat of Reid recorded a relatively narrow majority of 52.7 per cent. Credit:Jesse Marlow Further south, Liberal MP Julia Banks, who counts large Malaysian and Sri Lankan populations among her Chisholm constituents, said she was "incredibly proud" of her electorate recording a 61.6 per cent "yes" vote. "It's wrong to assume people have voted in line with their ethnicity," she said. "The result in Chisholm speaks for itself." In Moreton, south of Brisbane, 45 per cent of residents in Graham Perret's seat were born overseas. It has seven times the proportion of the Chinese population of Queensland, four times the number of Indians, and three times the number of Taiwanese residents.

Mr Perret was one of the first backers of the latest same-sex marriage legislative push when it was first proposed in 2015 and up to 61 per cent of residents ended up voting yes in his electorate. He said while the Buddhist community had little involvement in the debate, he had been targeted by Christian groups in the lead-up to the survey, but didn't believe his political fate would be hurt by the "yes" outcome. "I don't think anyone is going to love their wife or husband any less," the Labor MP said. "I think they will think about their gay neighbours life as much as they would have before the vote – not much at all."

In Sydney, Grayndler, North Sydney, Kingsford Smith and Bradfield all recorded resounding "yes" votes of 60 per cent or more. All have high Chinese or Vietnamese Christian populations, and in Kingsford Smith, a growing Indonesian-Muslim population, 20 times the state average. "I guess there is a strong LGBTIQ community in my area, they campaigned very positively and worked with locals and community groups to explain the need for the reform," Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite said. There was another factor, the local member said: Sydney Airport.

"Qantas is a very big employer and the fact that chief executive Alan Joyce and Qantas have been strong in their support was a big factor for many who work in the area," he said. Of the most diverse electorates in Australia outside of western Sydney, only assistant minister Craig Laundy's Liberal seat of Reid recorded a relatively narrow majority of 52.7 per cent. More than 53 per cent of the electorate was born overseas, making it among the most multicultural areas in the country – the majority of them from non-English-speaking backgrounds such as China, Korea, India and Nepal. "We've always been a united, diverse community and this won't change," said Mr Laundy. "People were given the chance to have their voices heard and did so overwhelmingly."