The Same Same 25 is an annual celebration of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians.
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 2009 here. 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.

Stephen Brady

Official Secretary to the Governor-General

As one of Australia's most senior and respected diplomats, Brady and his partner Peter are an out and proud couple on the world stage.

The duo were the first-ever officially acknowledged gay ambassadorial couple back in 1999 when they were presented to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark when Brady's posting as Australian Ambassador to Denmark began.

The high-profile appointment gave Brady pause to consider how far LGBT rights had come in the space of two decades. "My partner Peter and I met twenty eight years ago, both aged 22 and by the law of much of the land were designated criminals," he tells Same Same. "By the psychiatrist manuals we were automatically determined to suffer from mental illness.

"We worked for over a quarter of a century in government employment with no access to the same superannuation rights of people we sat right next to in the office. Hypocrisy accompanied by barely hidden scorn or worse, was palpable. We persevered and wherever possible demonstrated in our professional lives that difference was enlarging and enhancing; that common humanity had to prevail over prejudice. We’ve come a very long way through the hard struggle of many brave people.

"When appointed Australian Ambassador to Sweden, Denmark & Norway and later to The Netherlands we found ourselves in societies which had legislatively and socially put asides prejudice," he adds. "We were embraced from Monarchs to everyday citizens.

"Peter and I are proud to have played a small part in ensuring that the stigma attached to those ‘coming out’ now is significantly lessened and that senior positions within government are not judged by sexuality but by merit alone."