"The exclusion of one of us means the exclusion of all of us." — Ben Franklin of the New South Wales Government.
It was a poignant start for the Human Rights Conference held in Sydney.
It's the first time an event of this magnitude has ever happened in the Southern Hemisphere.
Organiser and Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said it has been a long time coming.
"There's a real sense of pride and gratitude in what we've achieved," she said.
Brown said it is time her country helped others battle and stop discrimination in their own countries.
"We're here with activists and changemakers from around Asia and the Pacific, including people from New Zealand. We know people in these countries are facing really difficult times and we need our government, Australians to support and promote and really empower those communities to be able to affect the change they need," Brown said.
More than 60 of the globe's leading human rights defenders, activists and officials are taking the stage to champion for a safe, free and equal world.
Of those speakers is United Nations representative Victor Madrigal-Barloz, who is an expert on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In his keynote, Madrigal-Barloz called on countries around the Asia-Pacific to put their governing bodies under a microscope and speak out against discriminative legislation.
"With so many countries that have at their core the concept of laws versus lore, or cultural norms that are in themselves lore, in governing the daily realities of their communities," Madrigal-Barloz said.
"Dignity and rights are the foundation of a theory of discrimination solemnly intertwined over the last five decades through international and regional human rights law."
New South Wales Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Regional Youth, Arts and Tourism, Ben Franklin, acknowledged while the last decade has seen immense legislative change for Australia's rainbow communities, more had to be done.
"While my 12-year-old self would be so happy at what we've achieved, I know we still have a long way to go, and that's why events such as this are so important," Franklin said.
"To push governments, and legislators, and opinion leaders to go even further."
On Wednesday, Australia's federal government announced a new pathway to address the health inequities that LGBTTQIA+ Australians face.
Health Minister Mark Butler and Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney, on the sidelines of Sydney WorldPride, launched a national 10-year health plan, pledging a AUD$26 million (NZD$28.1 million) investment in LGBTTQIA+ health research.
Franklin said it's the biggest investment in organisation LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, which should "close the gap".
"This financial investment is important because it shows our unequivocal support for the community and the huge contribution it makes to our state."
On the HRC agenda will be discussions centred on decolonisation, pink-washing, conversion therapy and minising discrimination in travel for rainbow communities.
Booking.com Asia-Pacific managing director Laura Houldsworth said its new Travel Proud report has exposed the true realities for LGBTTQIA+ travellers from around the world.
"We need to understand for the rainbow communities, 82% of people have said they have had an unwelcoming experience when they've checked into accommodation or when they're travelling," she said.
Houldsworth said that is a statistic that needs to be taken very seriously.
"It's incredibly important that we need to make it more inclusive and safer for everyone."
Thousands of attendees from around the globe will be taking part in the conference.
Of those is Sydney WorldPride accessibility manager Akii Ngo, who said the conference has made them feel safe and finally like they belong.
"As a trans-non-binary, feminine-presenting person, you often felt like you need to be something more, do something more. And as a person of colour and as someone from a refugee background and as a disabled person who is chronically ill, there's so many intersections where you just feel like you don't belong," Ngo said.
"But here, right now in this space, in this moment, I wholeheartedly feel like I do."
The Human Rights Conference is a three-day event that goes until Saturday, alongside Sydney's WorldPride which closes on Sunday.
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