Labor members of parliament will be out in force at this weekend’s Mardi Gras Fair Day, joining the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby to help plant 10,000 hearts in Victoria Park in a call for equal rights.

‘Fair Day will see an unprecedented show of political support for gay and lesbian equality,’ said Anthony Albanese MP, Federal Member for Grayndler.

‘Labor will be represented by three Federal Shadow Ministers, the President of the NSW Legislative Council, Meredith Burgmann, newly elected MLC Penny Sharpe, Member for Canterbury Linda Burney MP and a host of Rainbow Labor members.’

The Shadow Ministers joining Albanese at the Sea of Hearts rally are Shadow Minister for Childcare, Youth and Women, Tanya Plibersek MP and Shadow Minister for Employment, Senator Penny Wong.

‘I have been fighting for basic legal equality for same sex couples since I was elected to Federal Parliament in 1996. Although it is not surprising, it saddens me that as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the election of the Howard Government very little has changed.’

‘Labor, on the other hand, has gone to every election since 1996 with a commitment to removing important areas of legal discrimination against same sex couples. The fact that Labor will be represented by three senior shadow ministers shows the strength of support within our Federal ranks for removing inequality.

‘When the first steps towards equal rights – including the first Mardi Gras – were taken in the 1970s, who would have imagined that some 30 years on lesbians and gay men would still face discrimination in areas of every day life such as taxation and superannuation.

‘I congratulate the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby for continuing to take up the fight, in the face of staunch opposition from the Prime Minister and his cronies. Labor politicians are proud to support the Sea of Hearts event and the Lobby’s broader campaign for legal equality.’

Anthony will be ‘planting’ a heart at 11:00 am, Sunday 19 February, Victoria Park, Camperdown