It is integral to the spirit of Sea Shepherd Australia to speak to government in the face of injustice and thus it is incumbent that we voice our support for marriage equality in Australia.

Many of our staff, crew, supporters and volunteers are LGBTQ and it is a gross miscarriage of justice that they are denied the right to marry whomever they choose to love.

To be silent in the shadow of a controversial plebiscite that seeks to reduce a fundamental human rights issue to a non-binding postal vote is not an option for an organization that finds its strength in the passion and diversity of its people.

Marriage equality should immediately be made into law, with $120 million dollars could be better spent on surveillance of illegal whaling activities in the Southern Ocean.

However, as insulting it is to have equal rights for a minority voted upon by a majority, this postal plebiscite is now an opportunity for the majority of Australians, who do in fact support marriage equality, to make themselves heard in Canberra.

To that end, we are proud to stand as an ally to the Australian LGBTQ community by saying: love is love, yes to long-overdue equal rights!