Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A wedding took place last weekend at the beautiful North Entrance Beach on the Central Coast. It was the wedding of a couple who have been together for 16 years and have three children. The wedding of a couple who, this time last year, weren't able to marry. Because this House and this nation said yes to same-sex marriage, they could say 'I do'. Their son, Josh, would be known to many in this place. His letter to the then Prime Minister about the same-sex marriage debate went viral last year, and he became the face of the gaybies campaigning for equal rights for their parents. Josh told me he was emotional during the service when he heard the new legal term 'between two people'. After all of these years, he was finally able to sign his parents' marriage certificate.

During the service, Kelly and Lyn made vows to each other and to their three children. During the speeches, Lyn announced that she would be legally adopting Josh, making this family complete in the eyes of the law for the first time. But, of course, this family has always been complete. They have always been surrounded by love. The road to marriage equality has been tough for rainbow families like this, but now it's the time to celebrate. It gives me tremendous joy to congratulate Kelly and Lyn on their marriage. Congratulations on the love you have shown your children, Rhianna, Dakota and Joshua, and the example you have shown to our community on the Central Coast. On behalf of our community, who overwhelmingly supported the right for same-sex couples to marry, and on behalf of my colleagues in this place who were determined to make it law, I wish you and your family joy and happiness for the future. Congratulations and best wishes.

See this speech in context