Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Entertainer Natalie Bassingthwaighte has dedicated her new single, ‘Love Like This’, to celebrate the Wear it with Pride campaign and will give all of her profits from the single, to the ongoing support of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community. The new single is available digitally on iTunes www.itunes.com/nataliebassingthwaighte, bandit.fm www.bandit.fm/nataliebassingthwaighte and all digital retailers from January 29, 2010.

Natalie is a proud ambassador for the Wear it with Pride campaign which launches on 2 February 2010, and commemorates the ground-breaking human rights law reforms that have recently been introduced for same-sex couples in Australia.

The song and video for ‘Love Like This’ are a key part of Wear it with Pride, a campaign aimed to spark conversation about the 85 law reforms that give same sex couples equal rights in the areas of employee entitlements, privacy rights, tax, superannuation, child support and insurance.

Gay and lesbian community members of all ages and their families were invited to appear in the video for ‘Love Like This’ which features many of the 85 T-shirts, custom designed by Australia’s hottest artists and fashion designers. These t-shirts are set to be the centrepiece of the Wear it with Pride campaign, by commemorating the reforms and inspiring people to learn more about these historic changes.

Natalie is joined in the video clip by a host of other campaign ambassadors including Kylie Gillies (The Morning Show), Richard Reid (Today show), drag identity Courtney Act, Dr Kerryn Phelps (former Head of the AMA) and Adam Sutton (Heath Ledger’s inspiration for Brokeback Mountain). ________________________________________________________

Singer, actor, dancer, presenter Natalie Bassingthwaighte is one of Australia's favourite entertainers. Natalie is the presenter of So You Think You Can Dance Australia and has recently filmed a major role in the third series of Underbelly: The Golden Mile. Aside from all her charity work, Natalie Bassingthwaighte has been a longtime friend and huge supporter of the LGBT community, participating in this project and others.

Why are you representing this same-sex law reform campaign?

For me it was a really important campaign to be a part of, because many of my friends are a part of the LGBT community. I hardly knew anything about these reforms and when I approached my friends, neither had they. So for me it's about sharing knowledge and hopefully making a difference in our society.

Why should people wear these 85 law reforms with pride?

Because it's a great way to stand up for something we believe in. I think we should wear the T-Shirts, because they look good, first of all, which is always important! But more importantly, to WEAR IT WITH PRIDE is encouraging everyone to be proud of who they are as individuals. It allows us to stand up for each other, and our human rights on a daily basis.

Why is it important for other people to share their experiences and stories?

If everyday people don't come forward and share their stories, how is anyone else really supposed to know what is really going on? Like stories from the workplace area that I'm representing, where say a partner had to take a year off work to care for their sick same-sex partner - they weren't entitled to access the same carer rights as straight couples. And if we don't hear stories like that, then none of us are going to be able to move forward and fight for the cause as well.

Has anyone you know experienced same-sex discrimination?

Most of my friends in same-sex couples have definitely experienced discrimination from as soon as they came out. Even before that you know, trying to hide who they were. I mean there's a lot of different scenarios I've heard where being in a work environment and you know not being able to take a day off work and giving the priority to someone who has a sick kid at home in a “normal” relationship, or even just in the workplace in general, feeling embarrassed to kind of stand up and be who they are.

Will these reforms make a difference to their lives?

Hugely I hope! I mean I think if I'm aware and then same-sex couples are aware and the whole country kind of bands together it can make a difference. It can just get bigger and bigger and you never know what can happen for future reforms!

Do you think these reforms are a huge step forward for Australia?

I think, let's stand up as Australians. Let's stand up and be proud and probably take the world by storm. You know a lot of other countries do have these same same-sex reforms, but a lot don't as well so why not be proud, and make sure we encourage the world to do the same thing.

What do you like about your T-Shirt design?

There's a form of unity and strength about the t-shirt I love and I love yellow so the colour is really cool for me too!

What kind of message do these reforms send to all Australians?

I think the best thing about this campaign is it will help give the knowledge to people who would ordinarily not think about these issues. As soon as I read about the reforms I was shocked that same sex couples weren't treated equally in these ways. It just doesn't make any sense to me; there's no logic in it. Hopefully other people learning about these reforms will open their minds and change the way they think and embrace all members of the community regardless of their sexual preference. As a woman in this society with a lot of gay friends, I think that it's ridiculously important to stand up and be proud of whom we are as individuals and to then know that we're going to be treated equally. 85 reforms is a huge start and I think it's going to be a great thing.