Aussie artist Darren Hayes has penned a heartfelt open letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling for the politician to make history and provide equality for the LGBT community.
"You are the leader of one of the most progressive and fortunate nations in the world and yet your government still denies equality to LGBT people," the former frontman of Savage Garden wrote in a letter posted to his Facebook page yesterday.
"You are about to waste 160 million hard earned Australian tax dollars on what is essentially an opinion poll even though you’re aware, as are all Australians, that an estimated 72 percent of the nation is already in favor of equal marriage. Imagine what you could do with that money instead?
"For starters, you could spend it on mental health care - for all of those people who are depressed or suicidal as a result of living in a world where they are considered second class citizens."
Hayes went into detail about his own struggles coming out in a society where "to be gay felt to me like a death sentence".
"I was bullied, I was tormented and eventually I convinced myself the person my Mother gave birth to was something to be ashamed of," the letter continues.
"I buried my sense of self and in turn developed a sense of self-hatred and shame that almost cost me my life.
"Through therapy and the support of family and friends I am one of the lucky ones. I survived. I learned to accept who I was in spite of living in a world that did not feel accepting to me. That time has passed. It is 2016 and it’s time for Australia to get on the right side of history too."
The 44-year-old musician noted that while Turnbull himself supports equal marriage, he fronts a party which as a whole does not.
"Why not be a hero? Why not join right side of history now?
"Leadership comes from the top of society and carries with it an obligation to protect and serve all of us but especially those with the least power.
"You have the power to tell those who wish to harm LGBT people they are in the minority and that society at large does not support hate. You have that power.
"I am sure you are a compassionate person. I am sure you are a smart person. I urge you to combine those qualities to lead your party to come up with 160 better uses for 160 million dollars than to ask a redundant and quite frankly insulting question the nation and much of the world has already answered. You yourself have already answered it."
Read Hayes' open letter in full below.
