Three in five Australians support same-sex marriage, according to a new survey, with women, young people and those on higher incomes most likely to support it.

The survey commissioned by lobby group Australian Marriage Equality showed support for gay marriage rose to 60 per cent, up from 57 per cent two years ago, following changes last year that removed some forms of discrimination against gay couples but did not allow marriage.

 
 

Peter Furness (AME convener) and Senator Bob Brown launch poll results in Parliament House,  Canberra.

AME convener Peter Furness said the poll results challenged the argument against gay marriage used by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

"Clearly, Australians believe marriage is first and foremost about love and commitment, not your partner's gender," Mr Furness said.

"This poll scuttles the only rationale put forward by the Rudd Government for opposing equality, namely that a majority of Australians believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman."

The Greens used the results to embolden their campaign for Australian law to recognise same-sex marriages that take place overseas.

"Legislative reform must continue until same-sex couples enjoy full marriage equality," Greens sexuality spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.

"It is ridiculous that someone who was married in Canada can step off the plane at Sydney International Airport and no longer be considered married under Australian law", she said.

She called for legal recognition of the rights of same-sex couples to be put on the agenda at the Labor Party national conference in Sydney next month.

The nationwide survey of 1100 respondents carried out by Galaxy Research found females (68 per cent) were more likely to support gay marriage than males (53 per cent), while Australians aged 16 to 24 (74 per cent) were more likely to agree than those aged 25 to 34 (71 per cent), 35-49 (68 per cent) or 50 and over (45 per cent).

Greens voters (82 per cent) were more likely to agree than those who vote for the ALP (64 per cent) and the Coalition (50 per cent).

Attitudes also split according to income levels. While 66 per cent of white-collar workers backed the change, that figure fell to 55 per cent for blue-collar workers.


See the Galaxy poll results here.