I celebrate the forty-eighth Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and reaffirm the Labor Government's unwavering support for that extraordinary festival. For nearly five decades, Mardi Gras has been a party in the truest and best sense—a moment when joy becomes its own form of protest, when pride is loud and unapologetic, and when thousands come together to celebrate queer culture in all its fabulousness. It is a night when people express themselves freely, surrounded by a community that lifts them up, exactly as they are.

What began as one night of protest and pride is now a season-long celebration of queer culture and creativity, drawing together tens of thousands of people from across New South Wales and around the world. This year the inner west is proudly and loudly supporting Mardi Gras—and rightly so. The inner west is widely recognised as being the beating heart of Australia's queer community, and this year Inner West Council has stepped up to host major events across our neighbourhoods. Some of the extraordinary Sydney Mardi Gras parade floats that will travel down Oxford Street will come to life at a community workshop at the Inner West Sustainability Hub in Summer Hill.

One of the most significant events being held in the inner west this year is Sissy Ball at Marrickville Town Hall. Celebrating queer excellence through dance, fashion, music and performance, Sissy Ball honours the communities—especially trans women of colour—who created ballroom culture as an act of resistance, self‑expression and survival. Hosting Sissy Ball at Marrickville Town Hall is deeply meaningful as it gives young LGBTIQA+ people a place to see themselves reflected as bold, beautiful and unafraid. I extend my thanks to Inner West Council for partnering with Mardi Gras and making sure we can celebrate locally with the prominence, pride and respect our LGBTIQA+ community deserve.

Last year I had the immense joy of marching with Rainbow Families, which proudly and loudly represents LGBTIQA+ parents and their children. Those families march as an act of pride. It is moment to show their children that their family is celebrated and seen. It is wonderful to see the joy and excitement on those kids' faces. I thank Ashley Scott and the entire Rainbow Families community for their tireless advocacy, not just during Mardi Gras but every day of the year. Mardi Gras has never been apolitical. It began, of course, with the courage of the 78ers, who marched for justice but were met with brutality. They were beaten, arrested and publicly outed. They took a defiant stand against the discrimination and violence that so many LGBTIQA+ people in New South Wales had endured. Their bravery was formally acknowledged in the New South Wales Government's 2016 apology. Their courage fundamentally reshaped our State, and we thank them for that.

I am proud to be a member of a Labor government that has delivered some of the most significant reforms for LGBTIQA+ people in many decades. The equality legislation modernised outdated laws and strengthened protections across the statute book. It removed the invasive surgical requirement for trans and gender-diverse people wanting to update their birth certificate. It strengthened hate crime laws to explicitly protect people on the basis of gender identity and sex characteristics. It created pathways for parenting orders for families formed through international surrogacy, added privacy protections to prevent people from being unwillingly outed and modernised outdated provisions affecting people living with HIV.

Those reforms mean dignity, safety and recognition for thousands of people across our State, but passing laws is only the first step. Equality on paper must become equality in people's everyday lives. That is why our Government is developing the first whole-of-government LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Strategy in our State. It will embed inclusion in every service and every agency across the State. It is also why we are working with the Inner City Legal Centre, whose A Blueprint for Equality demonstrates the urgent need for specialist LGBTIQA+ legal services across our State. As we come together to celebrate the forty-eighth Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, let me be absolutely clear: Our Government is committed to funding Mardi Gras and ensuring its ongoing success. We are absolutely unwavering in that commitment. We support Mardi Gras not just because it brings visitors and boosts the economy but because it matters. It reflects the very best of who we are in this State, and I look forward to marching again this year.