Deputy Labor leader says greatest threat to same-sex marriage is apathy, while rejecting claims the worst behaviour has come from the yes side

Tanya Plibersek says apathy is still one of the biggest threats to a yes vote on the same-sex marriage postal survey and that’s why marriage equality supporters remain nervous about the outcome.

Plibersek also maintained Tony Abbott was wrong to claim the majority of the “bad behaviour” seen during the campaign came from yes campaigners.

Plibersek joined the queue of politicians condemning any violence as “unacceptable” and said that included the alleged assault on Kevin Rudd’s godson by a supporter of the no campaign.

Send us your reports of same-sex marriage postal surveys gone astray Read more

She said Abbott’s claim that marriage equality advocates were to blame for most of the “bullying” seen so far during the campaign was “quite wrong”, mentioning cases where yes campaigners had been spat at, or had their homes vandalised.

But she saw apathy as the biggest threat to the yes campaign.

“I’ve been nervous the whole way,” she told ABC’s Insiders. “I think it’s going to be very interesting to see the level of turnout.

“I think that the biggest threat to the yes campaign’s success is people assuming that this is in the bag because they know that a majority of Australians support marriage equality and they think – ‘well, my vote won’t matter, you know, everybody else will post back their yes vote’.

“It is absolutely critical that every single person who gets a ballot paper in their letterbox fills it in and send it back. Apathy is the biggest risk here.”

Marriage equality supporters spent the weekend door-knocking thousands of homes across Australia, as well as hitting send on a mass text message campaign urging a yes vote for a “fairer Australia”, just hours after Abbott used his alleged attack to press his case for the no campaign.

The door-knocking and text appeal have met with mixed response on social media, with some questioning how their phone numbers were obtained.

But Plibersek said she was growing increasingly frustrated by people who had advocated for a public vote on the issue questioning why people were campaigning.

“I think that one of the things that is most irritating about this is the people who are getting their goat up about the SMS messages coming out urging a yes vote,” she said. “We didn’t want this postal survey to happen. We’ve said all along that this is $122m waste of money that is very distressing for a lot of people.

“And then, when the yes campaign actually goes out and campaigns, as you would in a general election, the no campaign saying that it is unfair that people are urging a Yes vote.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Alex Greenwich, from the Equality Campaign said his group was using every available resource to encourage people to vote yes and would continue to do so.



“It’s so important to reach as many Australians as possible and remind them this is a vote about fairness and ensuring every Australian is equal under the law,” he said.

The yes campaign has not been the only side to utilise these campaign tactics – robocalls linked to an American Republican pollster were reported earlier this month, while religious groups have urged parents to vote no.

Abbott went on air on Friday after he was allegedly head-butted in Hobart, claiming his alleged assailant was a marriage equality advocate.



“This is why I say, if you don’t like political correctness vote no, if you don’t like being pushed around by activists vote no and if you don’t like the kind of intimidation that is kind of creeping into our society, the only safe thing you can do is to vote no and tell these people that they have to treat our values, our institutions with respect,” he said from Brisbane on Friday.

Hobart DJ Astro “Funknukl” Labe has been charged with the assault. He said he was wearing a rainbow yes badge when the alleged attack occurred but has repeatedly stated he is not a campaigner and said “this has nothing whatsoever to do with marriage equality”.

The health minister, Greg Hunt, who is advocating for a yes vote, said both campaigns “have to be conducted in a respectful way” and respect freedom of speech.



Marriage v de facto partnerships in Australia: the legal differences explained Read more

“I am actually very upbeat about the democratic process, contrary to many people, but there are those at either end who either don’t respect the notion of free speech, or are very, very extreme in the way they present the others and respect is the way forward and I think after this is done, we will have a result and the country will be better for it,” he told Sky News.

But he said the lesson of Brexit and the US election outcomes was never to presume an electoral outcome was guranteed.

“The message for those who are campaigning for yes is to make this about people’s right to marry and make this about acceptance.”

Those who have not received their survey forms are being encouraged to contact the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The result will be announced on 15 November.