ABS says some postal survey ballots were returned with razor blades
Image: Photo: Scott Feldstein.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says some marriage survey ballots have been returned with razors blades inside the envelopes.
Despite warnings early in the survey period that this would invalidate votes, ballots have also been posted with dirt or glitter in the envelopes, according to Pink News.
Police are investigating 14 incidents relating to the survey ballots, including some people who allegedly attempted to auction off their ballots online.
The marriage equality survey closes next Tuesday 7 November, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics having advised voters to mail their ballots by last week to ensure they are received and counted.
The latest figures show more than 70 per cent of votes have been received.
Lyle Shelton, the face of the No campaign, last week called marriage equality “snobbery”.
“There’s only about 20 or so [countries] out of 200 that have redefined marriage,” he said at an event in Coffs Harbour.
“It’s only a few western countries that have decided they’re better than the millennia of human history and anthropology, so they redefined marriage.
“I think we’re showing a lot of chronological snobbery in a handful of countries in the west.”
Shelton argued that despite Australia not having marriage equality, gay people are treated equally.
“We want to preserve the definition of marriage between a man and a woman,” he said.
“Our gay friends already have equality under the law, there is no discrimination in the Australian law against gay couples.”
The results of the marriage equality survey will be announced on November 15.
What total retards, why put a razor blade in an envelope that has a clear identifier that it is you?? and the people counting the vote are just doing their job, they didn’t instigate this, or agree or disagree with it, they just count it,. This whole sad episode in Australian history has the Liberal government to blame squarely and completely! Take your disappointment out on them and don’t vote for them in the next election!!
Liar Lyle, pants on fire.
How out of touch can he be?
Can’t even get his facts on straight.
What an absolutely abhorrent, potentially devastating and irresponsible act. Razor blades in the returned postal votes!
I hope the people who did that realise thats the ABS is a government entity and the police know exactly who they are by the barcode and that this isn’t an anonymous vote.
They could of done some real damage to the ABS employees only employed to open every returned vote irrespective of what side they ticked. I hope they are made an example with as they should be charged the same as if they had included suspicious substances.
I dare say the glitter, dirt and blades were all no voters. Even if they ticked yes to void their vote.
The people selling their forms to the highest bidders had better hope it was worth it. That may very well be Commonwealth level fraud.
When someone says “our gay friends” it’s a bloody sure bet they don’t have any.
As Pete points out, equality in real life depends on the family and govt departments recognising your relationship – or not, depending on who’s involved. Married couples don’t have to prove a thing.
And using Lyle’s “logic” (yeah, I know, work with me here), Australia shouldn’t have introduced paid maternity leave, workplace safety laws, annual leave, compulsory primary education, voting for women etc because western “chronological snobbery”. Fark.
Shelton’s comments are much like Abetz’s , skewed, dishonest and without social or scientific merit. They are refuted by Federal and State Ministers, Mental Health/AMA Authorities and Legal Practitioners Bodies. Both have religious obsessions and believe they are entitled to impose them on the rest of the community. Destructive but best not taken seriously!.
What Lyle Shelton fails to see is that millennia ago there were no constructs in place that excluded us. It is only with the dawn of religion and religious bigotry that we have been marginalised and maligned. We are only trying to achieve equality in a world that has been designed to control and exclude minorities while those in power make the rules. If these people are going to site history and tradition for their arguments they can’t just stop at a place in history that suits them they need to go all the way back and look at the true history of marriage and equality.
Lyle Shelton should try living as a gay male. He would then know we are not treated with equality under the law. In our day to day life things have somewhat improved, but try to join a club as a couple and see how far you get. Let alone try to have your say about your partner in hospital. Try to visit your partner in ICU and see how far you get. God forbid if your partner should die and you try to have a say about the arrangements. Try to collect your partners super. Even if your partner has specified that you has partner be the beneficiary. If a family member wants they can contest and win. Even the Government can step in and take the super! How is this equality?