Cory Bernardi claims Australians are lying about their votes on SSM
Image: Cory Bernardi. Image: YouTube.
Cory Bernardi has said he doesn’t believe the polls showing that around 60 per cent of voters have supported marriage equality.
The Conservative leader said he believes people are lying to conceal their No votes due to “political correctness”, according to The Guardian.
His comments come after Lyle Shelton last week said No campaigners wouldn’t accept a survey outcome in support of marriage equality.
“I’m not even conceding defeat quite frankly,” said Bernardi on Sunday.
“I think there are a great many people who are deeply concerned about the potential consequences of changing the marriage act.”
He said that people felt pressured by political correctness to say they had voted Yes when they had actually voted No.
More than 70 per cent of marriage survey forms have now been returned, and polls of voters have continued to show a clear majority say they have voted Yes.
This is consistent with Australian polls over the last few years indicating support of 60 to 65 per cent for marriage equality.
With voting closing on November 7, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recommends voters return their survey forms this week.
he is a F…WiT. and he Does not know what he is talking about . the truth is he Does not Know what the out come will be . it just all talk .just take it with a grain of salt.and we will see if he is right or not. lets hope we are right and he is NOT !!1
It’s all just another “Thought Bubble” from this arch-conservative ultra-right-wing, Liberal Party Defector. This is the person who unashamedly accepted Liberal party Finance to help him get into the Senate and then he betrayed them.
As most of those “surveys” are Anonymous no-one needed to feel they had to be Politically Correct” and say they voted “Yes” when in fact they voted “No”.
Try another tactic, Cory.
Remember that at the next Senate election when you will be up for re-election you won’t have all that lovely Liberal party money to spend and it will be very, very easy for SA Voters – who have never been known for their ultra-right-wing views will be able to put you and your lot of neo-fascists in the very last spots on the ballot paper.
@Dave,
When the Brexiteers were fighting the referendum Farage said that a 48-52% win for remaining wouldn’t be accepted and they would incite civil disobedience over the result.
When the result came in at 52-48% in favour of leaving the Brexiteers switched tack and declared themselves the winner with only 37% of the electorate. Accusing Remainers of being anti democratic traitors.
The lesson learn’t – you can’t trust people who lie for a living to play fair.
Be prepared to take the christians to court.
P.s. Now we agitate for a referendum to make religious organisations pay tax.
I think Bernardi may well be right. Just as exit polls couldn’t pick Trump’s election because a significant number of folks fibbed about their voting to enquiring media, my guess is that about one in twenty Australians have voted No and claimed to vote Yes. That’s five points off the Yes vote and straight onto the No vote.
That’s why I reckon despite the polls we are headed for a narrow No win. And in the washup after the event, the headlines about Yes being in front over the last few weeks will have a lot to answer for.
But, in a climate where the No campaign has just lied its arse off about everything from religious rights, parenting (completely unaffected by this vote but a major No talking point, just as we saw in Ireland but better argued off by the Yes campaign over there) and the continuing existence of Christmas (genuine claim raised by No campaign celebrity Margaret Court) a narrow No win will have no legitimacy and will be rightly ignored by an incoming Labor government.
And, as even Lyle Shelton has reminded us, we don’t have to accept the result of this at all.
Unfortunately, I think you’re right.
The whole debacle is weighted heavily in favour of a No vote in the first place – but I can’t trust the exit polls (despite having a few semesters of statistics behind me.)
Why? Because I don’t trust people not to lie. People may vote No and then lie, just as Bernadi says. Nobody is going to want to admit to it, because they know it’s nothing but bigotry and they’ll be ashamed of what people will think of them.
And rightly so.
I’m also concerned that we’re in a world of “voting for teh lulz,” where people will think they’re ‘edgy’ by voting No. They’ll know it has no effect on their lives, but think it’ll be a hell of a laugh to vote No.
I really hope I’m wrong. I really, REALLY hope I’m wrong.
But then, I hoped we wouldn’t have this farcical survey that’s created wounds that won’t heal for decades.