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From politics, business, arts and entertainment to community, health and sport, there’s a diverse range of influential gays and lesbians in this year’s Same Same 25. Nominated by the public, and chosen by a panel of Australia's gay and lesbian community, the Same Same 25 is the next generation of gay and lesbian role models.
The Same Same 25 is about recognising the important contribution members of the gay and lesbian community are making in all walks of life. It’s about unearthing unsung heroes who are out there making a difference. It’s about shining a light on important issues, challenging stereotypes and generating positive gay news stories.
The word ‘influence’ is a fluid term. Some have a huge influence over a large number of people, some have an important influence over a small number of people. Both are valuable. These are 25 people who are influential in their own right, people who are shaping how we view the world and having an impact in a variety of fields, from business to politics and entertainment.
SameSame.com.au  Giz Watson (WA)
To Giz Watson issues like social justice and the environment are not just trendy causes, but vital matters that she’s been fighting for, for decades - ever since she was a teen in fact.
Watson joined the Western Australian Greens party back in 1990 and in the Federal election that year stood for the House of Representatives seat of Forrest. Shortly afterwards she became the co-convenor of the Greens WA party. Not that long ago Western Australia was the worst place in Australia for gay rights. But with the help of Watson’s leadership, she helped direct the community and government into making it the best state in Australia for dealing with queer issues and protection.
According to Watson, marriage is the issue that we will be fighting for in the near future, and she sees it as the struggle for the younger and next generations. She also believes we must fight to remove the exemptions that allow religious institutions to discriminate against us.
“They are allowed to preach hate and discrimination and that is simply not on. It’s one thing to express a point of view, but another thing to actively foster a discriminatory attitude. The government says we are equal, and protections from such discrimination applies to the rest of society. So why not these institutions too?” says Watson.
“Gay and lesbian rights often get incorrectly divided along religious lines rather than being seen as human rights issues, which is what they really are. That confusion has been one of the greatest barriers to equality.”
By Travis de Jonk
 Matthew Mitcham (NSW)
At 20 years of age, Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is the youngest member of this year’s list. At the Beijing Olympic Games he received the highest single-dive score in Olympic history and brought home a gold medal for his efforts on the 10m platform, making him the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since 1924. Matthew was also the only openly gay male medal winner at this year’s games. His honesty and openness about his sexuality won him legions of fans around the world, but has that come at the cost of securing a sponsorship deal? “I won’t lie, it has crossed my mind that perhaps coming out affected my chances of sponsorship, and that perhaps I should have thought twice before telling the journalist about my partner… but I’d like to hope that Australia is beyond discrimination against homosexuality, and that that’s not the reason. But I’m an honest person, I knew I was going to be in the public eye. I thought keeping that part of myself hidden was kind of like lying. The country wouldn’t be getting to know me if they didn’t know all of me, the real me.” For someone so young, Mitcham seems to know himself pretty well. In many ways he’s had to grow up fast. He realised he was gay by the age of ten, he’d come out to his mother at fourteen, and spent a good chunk of his teens battling serious depression, which almost forced him to retire from sport altogether. “I’m not quite sure why I suffered from depression. There were a lot of things in my life that were too much for me. I had a lot on my plate. A lot of it was because of diving - I sacrificed a lot for it and it took such a long time to see any rewards. I think depression is something that affects people for a very long time too, it’s not something that gets fixed instantly.” When asked what got him through that time in his life, Mitcham says his partner Lachlan was a big help. “Taking time away from sport was a huge help too - just living a normal life and getting away from it all was what I needed. And then when I started to miss it I came back and I was there because I wanted to be there, not because I felt it was the only option I had.” As it turned out, Mitcham’s return to diving not only resulted in a fulfillment of one of his life-long dreams, but it also thrust him onto the world stage, where countless others around the globe watched on in hope, and took a little part of his victory for themselves. By Christian Taylor  Paul Martin (QLD)
“I’ve always had a love of people and have always hated unnecessary suffering,” says Paul Martin, a well respected Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years experience. “As a young boy I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family, then I became involved in the Exodus ex-gay movement. After I left I went public with my disgust at how that organisation works and the damage that it does to people. I was on a mission. That’s why I chose this profession.”
Paul has passionately devoted his life to the mental health and well-being to the gay, lesbian and transgender community. Not only does he have a positive influence over his clients and their families and friends, he’s also on a mission to change the mindset of “people who are on the front line for gay and lesbian people when they are distressed”, be they GPs, counsellors or other psychologists.
“I want to debunk the myths and diminish the ignorance,” says Paul.
Paul takes the responsibility of being a role model very seriously. “It’s not about being an idealised individual, or a perfect individual, it’s about having your own set of values and living by them. It’s about demonstrating to people that we as gays and lesbians can attain real happiness and we can create our own family in whatever way we want. We can design a life that’s compatible with who we are, rather than living up to other people’s expectations.”
By Christian Taylor
 Jem Masters (NSW)
While you may be dancing the night away, Jem Masters is one of a few volunteers who are often quietly saving lives behind the scenes.
A twelve year volunteer of the Mardi Gras Medical Tent that services Mardi Gras events and various other parties for the gay community, Jem has been co-ordinating the tent for the last seven years and says his involvement started when he got tired of spending all night on a dance floor.
Jem’s contribution hasn’t just been a 24-hour-watch over the health and safety of partygoers, but in the information and research he has helped compile and interpret. The Medical Tent really is in a league of its own in terms of on-site medical support for dance parties, “we’re actually a first line medical team, we go above, and beyond first aid. We’ve had people come from other countries and say ‘we wish we had something like this at our parties.’”
Started during the height of the HIV epidemic in the early eighties by some “very inspirational and forward thinking people” Jem says he’s “seen the service that the Medical Tent provides grow. The community know it’s a safe environment to come to.”
By Joel Bryant.
 Penny Sharpe (NSW)
After years of Australia lagging behind many nations in the world on the issues of gay and lesbian rights, there has finally come some much needed reform and action on a government level, in the form of the Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws Bill and the ART bill, allowing single women and lesbians access to fertility treatments. Penny Sharpe is one of the key figures that influenced these vital changes through years of campaigning.
Out, proud and fearless right from the beginning Sharpe, is the first out lesbian in NSW Parliament. She is also a tirelessly active advocate for gay rights and women’s rights, especially behind the scenes of the Labor party. And Sharpe does it in a way that is always connected with the issues on a grassroots level.
Supporting the long gay and lesbian rights lobby campaign on equality, she helped push for the same-sex reforms in NSW, ensuring that couples were not discriminated against in almost all remaining legislation. In particular, the reforms included the recognition of lesbian co-mothers for the first time in NSW.
“For Lesbian mums [the passing of the Equality bill] provides certainty that they can continue to raise their children with the same love and care that they always have. But for the first time they will have the recognition and protection of the law,” explains Sharpe.
By Travis de Jonk
 John Challis (NSW)
At 80 years of age, John Challis is the oldest member of the Same Same 25. He’s devoted years to lobbying for the recognition of same-sex couples for commonwealth superannuation death benefits, to ensure that his partner would be provided for should he die first. So, how does Challis feel about the recent removal of same-sex discrimination from commonwealth laws?
“I feel a great sense of relief,” says Challis. “Now I don't have to do anymore interviews, or write anymore letters to PMs and Ministers, or submissions to inquiries or emails. But I suppose I'll be at it again lobbying for the Charter of Rights which the conservatives are all opposing. It keeps my brain active and is more interesting than doing crossword puzzles.”
John’s always been a bit of a pot stirrer. Back in the 60s he presented an interview on ABC television that caused enormous controversy amongst Catholics and as such it was repeated three times.
“Being accused of being a heretic by a conservative Catholic archbishop was a badge of honour! I'm very concerned with stopping the churches and religious conservatives from imposing their beliefs and standards on the rest of the community. The same-sex reforms would have happened years ago if politicians, hadn't been so frightened of offending the conservative Christian lobby.”
By Christian Taylor
 Melinda Edwards (NT)
Homosexuality has been legal federally since 1994, and in Tasmania since 1997, however the stain of extreme homophobic attitudes hung around long after within the Police force, who were used to actively arresting homosexuals back then. Back then, there was little trust and no communication.
It wasn’t really until 2000 that the Victorian police established their first full time Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer (GLLO). That first appointed GLLO was former Victorian, Melinda Edwards. It’s because of police officers like Edwards that the gay community enjoys the excellent relationship with the State Police, where there is a feeling of understanding, compassion and protection.
“I am an approachable kind of person, but I’m also not afraid to draw attention to the real issues. You can’t come up with appropriate solutions if you’re asking the wrong questions and not looking at the realities,” says Edwards.
The GLLO model that was established in Victoria is one that has slowly been rolled out to other states and territories, including the Northern Territory where Edwards now resides and works.
Not that you can tell by looking, but the enthusiastic and energetic Edwards just celebrated her 40th birthday this year and has over 20 years in the force under her belt. Her approachable, likeable personality, coupled with her policing and community experience has made her a highly valued member of the NT police. She’s still a point of contact for gay community issues in the NT. Violence is still a big focal point for her too, in both the white and aboriginal communities. She is also a strong advocate for women’s issues and sits on the NT Women’s Advisory Committee.
By Travis de Jonk.
 Narelda Jacobs (WA)
Nerelda is the first Aboriginal, and first openly gay newsreader in Western Australia. She became a single mother at the age of 18 and managed to juggle her commitments to her family with a successful media career, this year becoming the lead news anchor for Ten News in Perth.
Jacobs graduated from the WA Academy of Performing Arts and began her career at GWN in Bunbury, joining Ten News in Perth in 2000, eventually becoming their court reporter, and also filling in as weather presenter for over summer. In 2008, after the sudden death of news anchor Charmaine Dragun, Network Ten announced that production of their Perth news bulletin would return to Perth from Sydney, and they selected Jacobs as the new anchor.
 Penny Wong (SA)
Penny Wong really is a woman of firsts. The first openly lesbian member of Australian parliament, its first Asian-born female, and Australia’s first Minister for Climate Change and Water – a role garnering increasing attention in recent times. She appears on the Same Same 25 list for a second time. Malaysian-born Wong arrived in Australia as a child in 1977, she admits it was initially very difficult to adapt. “It was a hard time,” said Wong in her maiden speech to Parliament, “to leave a familiar place and come somewhere where you and your family were seen as so different. Racial abuse was not unusual.” A woman in a man’s world - and a lesbian in an extremely heterosexual workplace – Wong represents South Australia in the Senate as a member of the Labor party, holding a portfolio that makes her the highest ranked politician in her state. Wong has been open about her sexuality since August 2002, and sees it as a positive step that it’s not much of an issue in her home town of Adelaide. “It seems that public figures are becoming more prepared to be open about their sexuality,” Wong told the Sydney Star Observer in 2003. Asked about her sexuality, ethnicity and political career, Wong says that “if it shows that we are a nation where people can achieve things just on their abilities, then it is a good thing." In her maiden speech to parliament, Wong also made mention of her younger brother, who committed suicide ten days after her election to the Senate in 2001. "Your life and death ensure that I shall never forget what it is like for those who are truly marginalised." By Joel Bryant.  Sam Sparro (USA)
Sydney born Sam Sparro burst onto the music scene this year with his self-titled debut album. Nominated for a Grammy and five ARIAs, this performer, songwriter and producer has never shied away from his sexuality and has gone on to become a shining light in the music world, being a great model for people just by living his life.
“It's very flattering to be considered a role model,” says Sparro. “It’s not something that I take lightly. I'm not perfect - I'm just a person and make all sorts of mistakes. But, I think everybody just wants someone that they can relate to and look up too. If I can inspire others to be proud of themselves and go for what they want, then I'm very grateful for that.”
Does he consider himself influential? “I'm sure that I am in some context. I see people dressing like me at my shows and hear other artists covering my music. I'm not as influential as I'd like to be yet!” Sparro says that he wishes he could do more with this influence, “like tip the scales on things like Prop 8!”
So who are his role models? “I was completely obsessed with Björk as a teenager - she was just so bold and seemed oblivious to any rules, which I really looked up to. I've always looked up to Stevie Wonder too - as an exceptional artist but also as someone who overcame obstacles, and wasn’t a victim of circumstance. I'm trying to think if I had any gay role models growing up… Unfortunately, I don't think I really had any.”
Sparro describes his own coming out experience as both rewarding and a relief. “I always felt like I had a dark secret that someone was going to find out and expose. It was a horrible feeling that held me back for a long time. As soon as I came out to my family I felt liberated and much happier. I've also become a lot closer with my family in the years since. I know a lot of kids have a much worse time with it than I did - which is a shame. But there's lots of love out there in the world - sometimes you just have to go out and find it.”
By Christian Taylor
 Portia de Rossi (USA)
When it comes to out, proud, visible lesbians they don’t come much more recognisable than Portia de Rossi, actress and now wife of comedian Ellen DeGeneres. After struggling with her sexuality for years growing up in Geelong, Victoria, it seems Portia is finally feeling comfortable in her own skin. "My sexuality is a part of me that I really like,” says Portia in an interview with Paper magazine. “But it's not the totality of me. It's not a passion of mine to become political in any way, but I do think it's important to see gay men and women having big careers and very full, rich lives." Although once hesitant about coming out because of the effect it might have on her career, Portia is now both out, and successful in her own right. Originally known as Amanda Rodgers, de Rossi says that in hindsight she thinks she changed her name because of difficulty with her sexuality, and feeling like she just didn’t ‘fit’. Now out to everyone, thanks in large part to the enormous publicity around her marriage to Ellen, de Rossi recently admitted that the only family member she wasn’t out to was her 98 year-old grandmother. When told, her grandmother said that it was ‘a bad day’. It wasn’t an easy road for de Rossi, coming out to her mother three times, once at 16 when her mother found a copy of ‘The Joys of Lesbian Sex’ under her bed. “When I watched Ellen come out in ’97, my jaw was on the floor. I thought, there are some people who break the doors down, hold them open, and some people who walk right through. I always thought I was the latter. Thanks so much, everybody - thanks for making gay marriage legal, thank you for everything you’ve done - I’m just going to walk through that door.” While that may be the case, de Rossi was a visible, high profile face for the ongoing fight against Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in the state. Earlier this year she appeared in an anti-homophobia television commercial, talking about a gay related shooting at a California school. "Imagine if wearing make-up and a dress could get you killed,” says de Rossi. “For 15-year-old Lawrence King, that's just what happened." She may not consider herself to be an activist, but just by living her life openly and standing tall, de Rossi is making a positive contribution in her own way. By Joel Bryant.
 Siri May (NSW)
Siri May has been working in lesbian health for the past decade. She co-founded the young women's project at the AIDS Council of New South Wales in 2005 and has most recently launched the lesbian health strategy, the first project of its kind in Australia. She says the most exciting thing for her is the way the 25 highlights the issues behind the nominated individual.
“I think [the initiative] is a really positive force, because in terms of what I do, positive visibility and shedding light on the issues is really exciting and crucial to the health and well-being of same-sex attracted women,” says Siri.
Siri’s part in developing the Lesbian Health Strategy, Turning Point, launched by ACON in October 2008 has totally broken new ground. A three-year plan, it’s an Australian, and possibly even world, first in terms of putting a spotlight on lesbian health and calling for action in an area that has been “under-recognised and under researched”.
“It really ties back to that concept of invisibility,” says Siri. “Gay men were pathologised and criminalised, the HIV epidemic meant they were pathologised even more, and lesbians really didn’t exist in those discourses in medicine or law. It’s about writing ourselves in. When you work in an evidence based society, we need to write in those aspects of our experiences, so that we can relay it back to our government and our system, so we can hold them accountable for our health and well-being. Addressing [lesbian health] as a real issue.”
By Joel Bryant.
 Ruby Rose (NSW)
It’s been an amazing year for MTV VJ Ruby Rose, going from relative obscurity to having her sexuality splashed all over the papers in a matter of months. Still, the 22 year old handled it with honesty, strength and maturity, earning the respect of those around her, along with bags of fan mail.
“I think what the public appreciated was the honesty. And the fan mail was a really weird experience given that I’d only been doing the MTV job for a couple of months,” says Ruby. “People were saying, ‘thank you, you’ve made it easier for me to come out to my family’ or ‘you’ve made it easier to tell my friends’. I was really glad that a lot of good came out of it in the end. People liked that I came out straight away and didn’t hide it at all - it sent the message that there is nothing to hide when it comes to sexuality.”
According to Ruby the story hit the press after someone overheard her talking about a girlfriend at a party. “Then suddenly - ‘bang’ - it was in the paper, as one of those ‘guess who, don’t sue’ items. ‘Guess who’s a lesbian?’ When I was asked if it was true I turned around and said ‘yes, yes I am’.”
While Ruby can be philosophical about the experience now, she admits that it did have its frustrations. “I had a job that I wanted to do and I wanted that to be the reason people were writing articles about me. Although I understand that it doesn’t work like that, that doesn’t sell papers.”
For a few months Ruby was the tabloid it-girl, rumoured to be romantically linked with virtually every woman in town.
“I think it’s relaxed now. I’ve been an MTV VJ for 11 months – I haven’t even been doing this for a year – and only in the last two months have I seen articles written about me that don’t include my sexuality. For a really long time I was reading ‘Ruby Rose – MTV Lesbian’, as though being a lesbian was my job! I felt like I should get business cards made up – ‘Ruby Rose – part-time MTV VJ, full time lesbian’.”
Still, despite all the turmoil, Ruby has described the last year of her life as ‘absolutely extraordinary’.
“If it was a couple of years ago, or if I was in a different country, it could have been a really negative experience, so I’m really blessed.”
By Christian Taylor  Tony Sheldon (NSW)
“It’s a great surprise to be on the list,” says writer, director and actor Tony Sheldon. “I guess playing Bernadette in ‘Priscilla The Musical’ has a lot to do with it. People are obviously getting something out of the character.” That much is true. Two years on and ‘Priscilla The Musical’ is still going strong, currently playing for a second season in Sydney before heading overseas to London’s West End. Sheldon is the only member of the Australian cast who will be going with it. “I am not excited about that part just yet,” says Sheldon. “I’m frightened! It’s an extraordinary privilege and a huge responsibility.” According to Sheldon ‘Priscilla’ was always designed to appeal to mainstream audiences. “While the show has broken through a lot of barriers, the ‘straight Australian male’ often still has to be dragged along kicking and screaming by their wives or girlfriends. A lot of the time they really, really love it though! We’re slowly getting the message out to them - this show will not turn you gay! Just like when ‘Hair’ first opened – ‘Hair’ will not turn you into a hippy!” Sheldon says that throughout the rehearsal process the Director was only too willing to listen to his advice when it came to how the gay community was depicted in the show. “I was very protective of what we were saying about the gay community. I was very vocal if I felt that there was stuff that was going to show us in a bad light. To have three homosexual characters as your leads in a musical, especially an Australian musical, is unique and I wanted to make sure we didn’t blow the opportunity.” By Christian Taylor
 Andrew ‘Fuzz’ Purchas (NSW)
Andrew founded of the Sydney Convicts Rugby team back in 2003. At the time it was just about getting a bunch of guys together to play at the Bingham Cup – an international gay rugby tournament. They may not have won that year, but they did come home with fresh determination to push on, and since then they’ve become a formidable force within the sporting arena, bringing home the Bingham Cup both in 2006 and 2008 and also changing public perceptions about gay men in sport. “While there was never a political intention when we first started, we quickly realised that this was a good way of dispelling stereotypes,” says Andrew. “We played in a straight rugby competitions, we were the first gay rugby team to win in a straight rugby comp, and we identified ourselves as being a gay team so the teams we went up against knew all about it.” Andrew puts the Convicts’ success down to a combination of factors – they’re well organised, they’re well connected, the team is 100% committed and they’re well supported by people in the community, both gay and straight. “There’s a strong focus on the fact that we are a rugby club that happens to be gay – the rugby comes first. It’s not just another gay social group – if you want to go and pick up guys there are easier ways of doing it.” By Christian Taylor
 Bob Brown (TAS)
A member of last year’s Same Same 25, Greens leader Bob Brown has been a powerful voice for the environment and social justice since he was elected to the Senate in 1996. Bob Brown is a rare creature in Australian politics: a man who commands wide respect for his political idealism, has an unwavering loyalty to nature and who is openly homosexual too.
“I am very honoured by the Same Same 25,” says Brown. “It is my pleasure to act as an encouragement for younger gay and lesbian Australians. It is also good to be ending 2008 with national legislation to remove discrimination. We Greens will continue to work to eliminate all discrimination on the statute books including the ban on same sex marriage.”
Bob is a passionate advocate for Australia's environment and has also been a passionate defender of human rights with a long record of speaking out against the war in Iraq, the illegal detention of David Hicks and for oppressed people in East Timor, West Papua, Tibet and Burma.
By Christian Taylor
 Christine Manfield (NSW)
When it comes to Australian chefs, few are as highly regarded as culinary perfectionist Christine Manfield. Her influence extends far beyond the doors of her Sydney restaurant Universal and the pages of her five acclaimed and award winning books. “I’m about raising the bar and lifting the standards,” says Christine. “Everyone who works with me has to be as passionate as I am - they just don’t last the distance otherwise. They all live and breathe food and the whole culture around it.” Manfield’s loyal fans followed her and her partner Margie Harris from Paragon at Circular Quay in 1990, to the Phoenix in Woollahra, and then again to the Paramount in 1993, which closed in 2000. Three years later she moved to London to open East @ West in Covent Garden, which was met with critical acclaim and a slew of awards. When the property was sold by the owners in 2005 the restaurant closed, and Manfield returned to Australia, where two years later she opened Universal Restaurant in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Through her books, Christine’s culinary impact has reached into countless homes around the world. And through her restaurant work, she’s taken her role as colleague, friend and mentor very seriously. “Before I got into the world of cooking my previous career was as a teacher of children – that has stayed with me. I try to impart as much knowledge as I can to the people I work with. I always urge them to step up to the mark, to have something to work towards, to be constantly challenged. I think that’s the role and the responsibility of an employer, especially in a field such as ours that allows for creativity and expression. I am constantly feeding my staff new ideas. Whenever I come back from overseas I’ve always got some goody on my bag. Through my eyes they get access to the world.” In an intense environment like a professional kitchen, Manfield says that you have to be mentally tough and physically resilient. “My sexuality has never been an issue in the workplace – I guess that’s because I’ve been very selective about the people I’ve worked with before I went into business for myself, which was nineteen years ago. The hospitality industry itself has great camaraderie.” She does cite a lack of women in leading roles in the industry however. “So I am sure that there must be issues of sexist behaviour out there. There’s nothing to say that the girls can’t do it equally as good as the boys.” By Christian Taylor
 Bill Bowtell (NSW)
Bill Bowtell is a strategic policy adviser, with particular interest in national and international health policy structures and reform. In 1984, as senior adviser to the Australian health minister, he played a significant role in the introduction of the Medicare health insurance system and was also an architect of Australia's successful and well-regarded response to HIV/AIDS. “When the Hawke Government was elected in 1983… we were faced with this completely unexpected crisis that really affected the gay community,” says Bowtell. “We pushed for effective and sensible policies, not the policies dictated by the extreme right, which were about abstinence based on fear, panic and hysteria. We adopted policies that were pragmatic and radical and they worked. Many thousands of Australians – perhaps even you – are still with us as a result.” Bowtell believes that governments have not done enough in the last five years when it comes to prevention. However, when it comes to those people already living with the virus, Bowtell believes that no other Government looks after them better than we do. “It’s not perfect, but here they have access to the latest and best treatments, there’s a whole range of social and support services for them, there are charities that help those who are really stressed financially. It could be better, as always, but we do a great deal. If you’re a person living with HIV there’d be no better place for you to be living in the world than in Australia.” By Christian Taylor
 Brett Sheehy (VIC)
Once at the helm of the Sydney and Adelaide International Arts Festivals, Brett Sheehy was appointed head of the Melbourne International Arts Festival this year; consolidating his position as a passionate influence on the Australian artistic landscape. "A festival is a unique marriage of personal taste with what the city has to offer,” said Sheehy in a past interview with Sydney Morning Herald. “I see my role as being a caretaker of the festival for the duration of my term but ownership remains with the people of the community.” Sheehy can boast bringing over 37 world premieres to our shores, and while he may have been offered similar positions overseas, his passion for promoting Australian artistic culture enticed him to take on a two year role with the Melbourne International Arts Festival that he says he hopes will be extended. By Joel Bryant  David Marr (NSW)
David Marr is a journalist who’s never afraid of chasing the real issue or story – as long as the story isn’t him. This is Marr’s second appearance on the Same Same 25 list and he says that he’s slightly embarrassed and shy about it.
“I’m appallingly arrogant. I’m incredibly vain. I’m all those things that writers tend to be,” says Marr. But he also somewhat modestly admits that he sees himself as unworthy of the accolade. “There are so many more gay and lesbian people in Australia who do more for the gay and lesbian community than I do, who work harder at it, who have tougher lives.”
Some of us, however, would argue that tackling the Howard government over the Tampa issue, regularly voicing opposition to the church on its teachings, and most recently defending artist Bill Henson over a wave of moral panic concerning his photographic artwork, is considerably tough.
Ever the voice of reason and intellect in media storms of moral conundrums, David says his tenacity in trying “to calm people down, and to urge them not to be afraid and not give in to panic” comes from being a gay man.
“I’ve realised that a fundamental theme of my working life is just to address panic and taboo and hatred and just to say – look at it rationally, look at it sensibly, don’t be afraid…and also of course, just accept the amazing variety of human lives…and that very much comes from being a gay man, because I grew up at a time when…as a young adult poofter, it was against the law to fuck. It was still a time of brutal dislike of homosexuality in the community.”
David also admits that while he may appear calm, composed and rational when chasing “heartless panic merchants” and while he “admires people who can get fabulously angry”, he says he rarely displays it himself. “You use your anger to drive the work you do – you use anger to be careful, you use anger to drive the research, you use anger in order to bother mounting all over again a defence of sensible relaxed liberty.”
“I’m always at loggerheads with those people who paint a golden picture about what life is like for young gay and lesbians in Australian society, I mean – there are still problems and difficulties, and the churches are still out there preaching hatred, preaching contempt, preaching exclusion. And all of that is still going on,” says David.
By Joel Bryant
 Felicity Marlowe (VIC)
Felicity Marlowe is a mother of three, has a partner of eight years and places a strong emphasis on the family. This is what inspired her to change the way same-sex couples and families are treated and recognised within Victoria and Australia.
Felicity has been a driving influence behind three of the biggest and most important changes to legislation in Australian gay history, including recent amendments to 105 discriminatory Commonwealth Laws, the new Relationships Registry in Victoria, though her role on the Attorney General’s GLBT advisory committee; and most recently the law reform in Victoria removing discrimination against same-sex couples wanting access to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).
While her work has had a huge impact on the lives of many people around the country, she remains humble, saying “it’s an acknowledgement of my role in years of community activism.”
Back in December 2003 Felicity and her partner Sarah founded the Love Makes A Family campaign and during the four months of Parliamentary debate over the ART Bill, Felicity attended all parliamentary sessions with her children. This iconic symbolism each day in Parliament put a human face and a real family into the discussion, and contributed to the landmark law being passed.
By Simon Mallia
 Ken Campagnolo (VIC)
Ken Campagnolo suffered years of harassment from his workmates at the Department Of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), including several incidents of verbal abuse, being taunted with a Barbie doll and being told he would never have a full time position at the DSE because he was ‘a poof’. He eventually took the matter to the Equal Opportunity Commission.
The story of his case was big news in his rural town Mansfield, and suddenly he was publicly outed as bisexual. His name, reputation and personal life were trashed around his hometown. He was denied work. He was spat at on the street. He was called a paedophile. He was dismissed, on the grounds of his sexuality, as coach of the Benella District and Bonnie Doon Football Clubs, where he had dedicated sixteen years of loyal service without incident, and had also passed four security and background checks. He fought the unfair dismissal in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which opened a giant can of worms about the poor treatment of queer people in Australian sport, and exposed the true lack of understanding and protection. When asked about his opinion regarding Campagnolo’s case, Jeff Kennett came out with comments aligning homosexuality with paedophilia, which enraged the gay community. With Campagnolo’s sexuality out in the open and discrimination everywhere, he was unable to find employment in his hometown or surrounding districts. Unable to pay his mortgage, he lost his family home and while he waited for his cases to come up, he spent three months homeless, living out of his car. Legal assistance that came from a community law firm allowed him to successfully fight his cases in VCAT, and despite all of his personal misfortune, he’s never stopped fighting. From February 2009, when over 75,000 footballers take to the field to play the game next year they will be subject to tough new anti-sexual discrimination rules outlawing serious slurs - a direct result of Campagnolo’s case. The new rules were initiated by the Victorian Country Football League, and will be rolled out nationally across all sports. “When all this first started, yes, it was about me. But this isn’t about just me anymore… It’s for the betterment of all sport,” says Campagnolo, “Sport is the last place where this kind of brutal discrimination is acceptable and is allowed to continue. It’s got to stop. I’m happy that I’m involved in putting an end to it.” By Travis de Jonk
 Meredith Turnbull (NSW)
Meredith Turnbull may not be a name that’s instantly recognisable, but the institution that she now leads is. As former executive officer of Sydney based youth advocacy organisation Twenty10 and current director of operations for grassroots community organisation GetUp!, Turnbull’s influence is undisputed, and definitely growing.
“I thank my mother every day for giving birth to me the way I am,” says Meredith of her sexuality. “Being gay has given me such a unique perspective on what it’s like to be discriminated against. What I like about my job, is that the world isn’t really made for us, and I get to shake things up.”
With a membership of just under 300,000 nationwide – more than all of the Australian political parties combined - GetUp! is using the power of the internet to champion a range of social justice issues, something Meredith is very familiar with, given her experience working with at risk gay and transgender youth.
GetUp’s current campaign against proposed internet censorship laws is just of the projects that Meredith believes will have positive flow on effects. She believes that we need to empower and educate younger members of our community, and that the internet is an integral part of that process. “If these laws come in, how will kids access the information they need to? Important information you need when coming-out could be censored, and children with difficult home environments have nowhere to turn. Increasingly the internet is the first place youth turn.” With over 30,000 signatures against internet censorship amassed so far, it looks like Meredith and GetUp! are set to challenge the threat.
By Joel Bryant
 Fran Kelly (NSW)
As presenter of ABC Radio National’s program ‘Breakfast’, Fran Kelly has the ear of Australia’s most influential people every morning. “There’s no doubt that our show is an agenda-setter. We’re definitely speaking to the opinion leaders across a whole range of areas – we’re speaking to the politicians, to many of the business leaders, to very senior and influential people in the law profession, in academia, in the arts. We know that because of the feedback we get and the gleeful response we normally receive when we invite people onto the program.” Kelly says that it was well known that the former Prime Minster John Howard listened to the program every morning as he was shaving. “That was absolutely true, no doubt about it. I know that a lot of senior cabinet ministers are listening everyday and that senior people from the opposition are too, because not infrequently something said on our program in the morning is put into a question at Question Time.” “There are two career moments that really stand out for me. The first was when I went to Canberra as a journalist for ABC Radio as part of the AM and PM team. Within three months I realised that this was it for me – politics, I loved it. I didn’t realise I would get so engrossed in it and end up with such a passion and such a penchant for it. There were very big stories occurring in Canberra when I got there – the challenge of Bob Hawke by Paul Keating, and Paul Keating and the whole native title MABO legislation – that was a huge time for me.” The other stand out moment for Kelly was landing the Radio National presenting gig. “I love the program, I always have, I was political correspondent on ‘Breakfast’ for years when I was in Canberra. It’s just one of the best jobs in Australian media.” How does Fran feel being seen as a role model. “I feel great. It’s something that embrace.” And has her sexuality ever been an issue with her ‘Breakfast’ audience? “No, never. It’s not something that I particularly discuss on the show, it’s not that kind of program. Although I have done work for the community in my capacity as a Radio National presenter. I launched the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report into same-sex entitlements and was happy to do that. I would have no idea what my audience’s knowledge, understanding or interest is in my sexuality is to be honest.” By Christian Taylor  Michael Kirby
This year sees Justice Michael Kirby on the Same Same 25 list for a second time. As one of the seven Justices of the High Court of Australia, the highest judicial level in the country, Kirby’s influence is indisputable.
“I am glad to be on the list again,” says Kirby. “But my partner, Johan van Vloten, is the true hero. Imagine putting up with me for 40 years!”
Last year Kirby was the People’s Choice, voted by Same Same members as the most influential person on the list. “But as for being a role model,” says Kirby, “I'd trade fifty judges for one Olympic gold medallist like Matthew Mitcham.”
When it comes to his judgments, Kirby is considered liberal in his approach, displaying a great degree of compassion, humanity and thoughtfulness. He is also an outspoken, fiercely intelligent advocate for gay rights in Australia, and has been pushing for change and recognition since he came out publicly in 1999.
In July last year Kirby made headlines when he asked the Government to consider changing discriminatory legislation so his partner could access a part-pension payable for life, if Kirby was to pass away first. It was a call for equality that was rejected by the then Liberal Government. However today, under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, we’ve finally seen the discrimination in this, and other Australian legislation, removed.
By Christian Taylor
Same Same 25 Judges
Alex Sosnov, Chairperson - Aurora Group
Andrew Creagh, Editor - DNA
Christian Taylor, National Editor - Same Same
David Wilkins, Events Co-ordinator - ACON
Kevin Golding, Finance and Busiess Analyst, Australia Council
Libby Clark, Operations Director - Sound Alliance
Peter Walton, Publisher - Evolution Publishing
Silke Bader, Managing Director - LOTL
Tim Duggan, co-founder, Marketing Director - Same Same
Credits
Compiled by SameSame.com.au
Christian Taylor
Travis De Jonk
Joel Bryant
To view profile in full detail, visit samesame.com.au/25
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The 25 most influential gay and lesbian Australians
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