- Former Prime Minister John Howard has announced his support for the ‘no’ vote
- The ex-PM said he believes children have right to be raised by mother and father
- The announcement comes as poll suggests support for the yes vote has dropped
- The same poll also suggests one-third of people won’t even bother to vote
Support for same-sex marriage has dropped in the lead-up to the upcoming postal vote, as the latest polling suggests one in three people won’t even bother to take part.
The poll result comes as former Prime Minister John Howard announces his support for the ‘no’ campaign.
Mr Howard said he ‘respect[s] the Yes campaign arguments, but this is not about a single right and there are conflicting rights’, according to The Australian.
Prime Minister John Howard has announced his support for the ‘no’ campaign in the same-sex marriage vote
Research suggests support for the ‘no’ vote has risen together with the number of people who are undecided
He said there could not be changes to the definition of marriage without consequences.
‘I believe there is a conflict here between those seeking the right for same-sex marriage and the rights of the child, and I believe the right of the child to have a mother and father should be preserved.’
Mr Howard said current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to hold a plebiscite on the issue was ‘correct and courageous’.
His announcement follows research provided to Fairfax Media suggesting support for the ‘no’ vote has risen together with the number of people who are undecided.
Turnout may be low, with just under two-thirds of voters saying they are ‘very likely’ to take part.
Mr Howard said there could not be changes to the definition of marriage without consequences
The research was carried out for the Equality Campaign by Newgate Research, and 800 people were polled.
In the poll, 58.4 per cent of people said they would vote ‘yes’ – down six percentage points from two weeks ago – while support for ‘no’ climbed two percentage points to 31.4 per cent.
Those who said they were undecided totalled 10.2 per cent of the poll, up three percentage points.
Turnout may be low, with just under two-thirds of voters saying they are ‘very likely’ to take part