Australians back same-sex marriage

SYDNEY: Emotional celebrations erupted across Australia on Wednesday as voters emphatically endorsed same-sex marriage after more than a decade of divisive debate, and political leaders immediately took the first steps to enshrine the historic shift in law.

Thousands of marriage equality supporters took to parks and squares across the vast continent, hugging, dancing and singing under clouds of glitter when the results of the two-month-long postal survey were announced.