About The Same Same 25 The Same Same 25 is an annual celebration of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians. They are publicly nominated, and chosen by a panel of community leaders. For the past two years, the announcement of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians has attracted widespread national media attention and focused on the achievements and influence of a varied and inspirational group of people. View the Same Same 25 for 2008 here. View the Same Same 25 for 2007 here. About Same Same
The Judges - The Same Same 25 judges are drawn from a wide cross-section of the community, representing a broad field of influence and experience in their chosen professions. Andrew Creagh (Editor, DNA Magazine), Cec Busby (Editor, LOTL Magazine), Rachel Cook (Editor, Cherrie Magazine), Christian Taylor (Editor, SameSame.com.au), David Wilkins (ACON), Kevin Golding (Business Analyst), Peter Walton (Publisher, Evolution), Libby Clark (Co-founder, Sound Alliance), Tim Duggan (Co-founder, SameSame.com.au)
The Process - The Same Same 25 is publicly nominated, and chosen by a panel of community leaders. Anyone in Australia can nominate someone for the Same Same 25.

Tim Wright

Marriage activist

A law student from Melbourne, Tim Wright is one of the younger members of this year's 25, but no less passionate about his cause - marriage equality.

Citing Justice Michael Kirby as a role-model and influence, Wright says it was when Kirby told him "the gay community needs to stop aiming for tolerance and demand full acceptance” that he set out on his current path.

As co-convenor of Equal Love National Day of Action for same-sex marriage in Victoria, Wright helped mobilise one of the strongest turn-outs in the country for marriage equality – 5,000 in August and 3,000 in November.

"The eventual attainment of full legal equality, and the movement that precedes it, will radically reshape society's ideas on sexual diversity," says Tim of his goals for the movement he's helped inspire. "As senior government minister Anthony Albanese said in August, the marriage equality movement in Australia is ‘unstoppable’ and I agree," says Tim.

Tim also concedes that whatever his own influence, it's only with the help of the thousands that turned out to rallies this year that he made a difference. "Whatever my own impact, it's clear that the Equal Love campaign has made enormous progress in 2009," says Tim, "even if our demand of marriage equality has been rejected by stubborn politicians. Every time we change someone's mind, we succeed. This success is attributable to the hundreds of people across the country who have helped to organise our rallies, and the thousands who have participated in them.”