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Fifteen years ago, Tanya Plibersek received a phone call
from one of her Sydney constituents, John. He told her
that it wasn’t fair that he couldn’t leave his superannuation
to his partner – the man he had been in love with for
50 years – because they were in a same-sex relationship.
Under the Labor government, those superannuation laws
were amended in 2008, along with 85 other pieces of
discriminatory legislation. Now aged in his late 80s,
John’s last wish is to marry his partner before they die.
“There are so many couples like that who have lived a
lifetime of dedication and devotion to each other, whose
love is strong and real,” says Plibersek, now the Deputy
Leader of the Labor Party. “They deserve to be able
to make that public statement.” She believes change
is unavoidable. “We are on the right side of history
and [it] will happen. But it needs to happen now.”SSAAARRRAAAHHHH
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The very first private member’s bill Sarah Hanson-
Young introduced to parliament was for marriage
equality. That was in 2008. Nine years later, the Greens
Senator for South Australia is stunned that she’s still
fighting for the cause. “The public desperately wants to
see this happen. Come on Malcolm [Turnbull], let’s get
this done,” she implores. When same-sex marriages are
finally made legal, Hanson-Young expects to see many
fabulous weddings across the country. But it’s about
more than that, she explains. “Marriage equality is about
ensuring all Australians have equal rights under the law
and that no-one is better than anyone else.”PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORGES ANTONI. HAIR BY DAREN BORTHWICK/THE ARTIST GROUP. MAKE-UP BY SARAH TAMMER/VIVIENS CREATIVE, PROP STYLIST LYDIA-JANE SAUNDERS. OPPOSITE PAGE, GETTY IMAGESREPORTAGE