Equal Love is an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n-wide campaign initiated by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country.About
''Equal Love''. Accessed 27 January 2010. The campaign involves a range of community, union, student and activist organisations whose aim is to influence public and government attitudes towards

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

couples through education and

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

History

The campaign began in 2004 in response to the Marriage Amendment Bill, introduced by the John Howard government which was passed by the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

in June of that year, which stated that a same-sex union "must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia". In 2009, an Equal Love spokesperson claimed that "60% of Australians support equal

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

rights and the introduction of the gender neutral bill. Equal marriage rights are becoming a significant and central human rights issue." In 2010, tens of thousands of Australians participated in Equal Love demonstrations for same-sex marriage. Equal Love has had the support of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

and other notable individuals such as

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

n Labor Party

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Bronwyn Pike Bronwyn Jane Pike (born 25 January 1956) is an Australian former politician. She was Minister for Education in Victoria in the Brumby Government, and was the Member of Parliament for Melbourne from 1999 to 2012. Early life Prior to ent ...

, ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' star

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

and ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Id ...

'' finalist

Rob Mills Robert Mills (born 21 June 1982) is an Australian actor, television host and singer-songwriter. He was one of the finalists from the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003. He co-hosted the late-night quiz show '' The Mint'' with his child ...

. In lobbying for same-sex marriage, the two organisations Equal Love and Community Action Against Homophobia share similar objectives.

Notable achievements

Equal Love Convenor Ali Hogg at the August 2011 Rally in Melbourne holding fund-raising buckets

In 2010, Equal Love won an ALSO Foundation award in the category of "Most Outstanding Community Campaign or Initiative" in the Australian LGBT community. The ALSO Foundation is

's largest

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

LGBT

community organisation Community organization or community based organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially ...

. Equal Love's Convener, Ali Hogg, won an ALSO award the same year as the "Most Outstanding Volunteer" for her work in the campaign. In 2011, Hogg was recognised in the "Absolut People's Choice" award as the country's most influential LGBT person for her work in Equal Love, as part of Same Same's "25 Most Influential LGBTI Australians". Equal Love were critical of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's position on same-sex marriage voting against the party policy change and against it becoming a binding vote and allowing members a conscience vote. In 2016 Equal Love and

Australian Marriage Equality Australian Marriage Equality (AME) was an advocacy group driven by volunteers who came together to pursue the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. AME partnered with a diverse range of organisations and supporters across the country to ...

led the

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

in St Kilda Victoria; this was the first time both groups had united to demand same-sex marriage. Equal Love criticises Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...

with Wallace saying "he’s done us a lot of damage because he’s taken a vote off the table and said the way forward is a plebiscite".

Criticism

Melbourne is the countries largest Equal Love movement but each state and territory manage their own activisms. The Brisbane campaign group has been criticised from within its own ranks, as well as by the wider LGBT community. The criticism has included concern about the close links Equal Love has to both the Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Alliance. The incorporation of other protest-issues within Equal Love rallies, as well as the "offensive" signs, the tee-shirt "profanity", along with the militancy of Equal Love participants have all raised concerns. Equal Love works with other Australian LGBTIQ groups including the Community Action Against Homophobia.

Rodney Croome Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. He worked on the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Tasmania, was a founder of Australian Marriage Equality, and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Ta ...

, national convener of Australian Marriage Equality, has expressed concerns about radical campaigning methods, saying "It is also a double standard to demand respect for same-sex relationships without showing the same respect in return".

National supporters

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

*Australian Coalition for Equality *

Australian Education Union The Australian Education Union (AEU) is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unio ...

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (formally registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council ...

*Comeout * Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia *

Community and Public Sector Union CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union (more commonly known as the CPSU) is a national trade union in Australia. The union came was established on 1 July 1994 with the amalgamation of the Public Sector, Professional, Scientific, Research, ...

Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is the peak representative body for postgraduate students in Australia. CAPA's members are 33 postgraduate associations and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Ass ...

Democratic Socialist Perspective The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP) was an Australian socialist political group. It was founded in 1972 as the Socialist Workers League (SWL), changing its name to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) a few years later. In the early 1990s ...

Finance Sector Union The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) is a white collar trade union that represents professionals working in the Banking, Finance, Insurance and Superannuation industries in Australia. The FSU was formed from the amalgamation in 1991 of va ...

*Freedom Socialist Party *Gaydar *

Green Left Weekly ''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by activists to, according to itself, "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. ''Green Le ...

*Human Rights Council of Australia *

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union United Voice was an Australian trade union from 1992 to 2019. It merged with the National Union of Workers to form the United Workers Union in 2019. United Voice was part of the Labor Left faction of the Australian Labor Party. The union was ...

National Tertiary Education Union The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector. Overview The ...

* National Union of Students *Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays *Rainbow Labor *Same Same * Socialist Alliance * Socialist Alternative * Young Australian Democrats

Rallies

* 2010 Australian gender equality rallies

References

External links

Equal Love
{{LGBT in Australia LGBTQ history in Australia LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Australia 2004 establishments in Australia Same-sex marriage in Australia