gltbi

MEDIA RELEASE | Tuesday March 26, 2013

Ryan Park MP, Shadow Minister for Roads
Penny Sharpe MLC, Shadow Minister for Transport

LABOR CALLS FOR TAYLOR SQUARE RAINBOW CROSSING TO STAY

NSW Labor has thrown its support behind the community campaign to keep the rainbow crossing at Taylor Square as a way to permanently celebrate the contribution of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people and their families to the city.

Shadow Minister for Transport, Penny Sharpe said Oxford Street was known worldwide as the hub of the GLBTI community in Australia.

“Oxford Street is famous around the world and I am confident that the rainbow crossing will become another attraction for Sydneysiders and tourists to come and see when they are in the city,” she said.

“The Shadow Minister for Roads and I have written to Duncan Gay today urging him to keep the rainbow crossing.

"I hope that common sense prevails and the crossing can become a permanent part of Oxford Street." 

JOINT STATEMENT

CROSS PARTY GROUP TO PURSUE MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN NSW

State Members of Parliament have joined forces to support marriage equality in NSW.

The National's Trevor Khan, Liberal's Bruce Notley-Smith,  the Greens’ Cate Faehrmann, Labor's Penny Sharpe, and Sydney Independent Clover Moore have formed a cross party group to progress marriage equality through the NSW Parliament.

We will be working together to develop a bill that will allow same sex couples in NSW to marry.

All couples in NSW should be treated equally before the law.

I rise in this debate to add my support to the campaign for marriage equality in Australia.

I do this as someone who believes that every person who calls Australia home has the right to be treated equally before the law.

Pursuing equality is one of the reasons that I wanted to become a member of this place.

It is the commitment to a fair go that is one of the reasons I am proud to be part of the Australian Labor Party.

Equality before the law is not a luxury to be given by legislators.

It is a principle that elected representatives have the responsibility to progress.

MEDIA RELEASE: NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL GLORIAs

(Gay & Lesbian Outrageous, Ridiculous and Ignorant comment Awards)

Launching the third annual the GLORIA awards today, NSW Labor MLC Penny Sharpe asked the public to nominate the most outrageous, ridiculous or ignorant homophobic or transphobic comment they had read or seen  about the GLBTI* community in the past year.

Held on the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) which is 17 May each year, the GLORIAs are modelled on former NSW MP Meredith Burgmann’s annual Ernie awards for sexist comments. 

“Every day there are public comments about people in the GLBTI community that are ignorant, unhelpful and sometimes downright dangerous.