Shane says his identity was up for public debate six years ago. Now the Voice feels similar

LGBTIQ+ groups have come out in support of a Yes vote for the Voice to Parliament referendum. Many said their experience during the marriage equality vote pushed them to the decision.

Shane Sturgiss is the CEO of BlaQ Aboriginal, one of 22 LGBTIQ+ organisations coming out in support of a Voice to Parliament Yes vote. Source: Supplied

Key Points

• A group of 22 LGBTIQ+ groups have come out in support of a Yes vote for the Voice referendum.
• Equality Australia said a survey of 4,078 of its supporters found widespread support for the Voice.
• The referendum will be held later this year.

As a gay Aboriginal man, Shane Sturgiss knows intimately what it's like to have the whole country discussing his identity.

Sturgiss feels there are similarities now with the debate around the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum and the marriage equality postal survey in 2017.

"It's really daunting to know that everyone around the country is being invited to talk about you as an individual," he told SBS News.

"The outcome of this directly impacts the way my life and the trajectory of my life, and my son's life and my granddaughters' lives, and the impact that will have on them in generations to come."

Shane Sturgiss (left) of BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation and Equality Australia legal director Ghassan Kassisieh are representing LGBTIQ+ groups supporting a Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum. Source: Supplied

But with the referendum, it feels pertinent to get the support of the entire nation because the vote on changing the constitution is compulsory rather than optional, Sturgiss said.

He is the CEO of the BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation, which is joining 22 LGBTIQ+ groups from around Australia, coming out in support of a Yes vote in the referendum later this year.

Sturgiss said it's time to bring allies together and build a groundswell of support.

"This is the second time our community has had the entire nation eyeballing them, knowing that conversations are being had about them in homes around the country, and not all of them are favourable," he said.

"Our queer community knows full well the fight for equality and to have our rights recognised. We know change is possible."

He said a Yes vote in the referendum will ensure First Nations people are recognised, "bringing a level of fairness and equality that has not been seen in Australia before".

"The Voice stems from decades of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activism, and it's a much-needed reform to ensure Aboriginal people have a say in the issues that affect us," he said.

Equality Australia, which works to protect the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, said there were many parallels between the marriage equality vote and the push for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

"When there was a public vote about our lives, the majority of Australians had our back, and it's time to pay it forward," Ghassan Kassisieh, legal director of Equality Australia, said.

"We know that laws and policies are better when governments listen to the voices of people who are most affected."

Equality Australia said a survey of 4,078 of its supporters found widespread support for the Voice, with 89.6 per cent of people saying they would vote Yes.

In the online survey, 4.3 per cent were unsure of how they would vote, and 6 per cent of people said they would vote No.

Interim CEO of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Gil Beckwith said: "The Voice to Parliament aligns with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras' core values of diversity, inclusion, and empowerment."

"We stand for giving a platform to underrepresented voices, and supporting the Voice to Parliament is a crucial and natural extension of our commitment to celebrate all facets of our community."