Eddie Blewett, who has two mums, made an emotional return to Canberra to ask Australians to remember to vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey.
The Far South Coast teen’s visit came as the the Australian Bureau of Statistics sent out about 600,000 of the 16 million postal survey forms.
The 14-year-old travelled to Canberra for the second time in two years with his two mums Neroli Dickson and Claire Blewett, meeting with Labor leader Bill Shorten and deputy Tanya Plibersek outside Parliament House.
Eddie, from Tathra, said he was worried people were bored of the debate and wouldn't vote in the survey.
He said he just wanted everyone to see his family the same as they did everyone else's.
"People who know us know that there is nothing wrong with my family," he said.
"We play soccer in the winter and volunteer for our surf club in the summer."
"Everyone has to see they don't need to make a big fuss about it, they'll just get to see other people as equals."
Eddie became a public face of the same-sex marriage debate last September when he came to parliament with Rainbow Families, a support group for LGBTQI families.
He said it had been hard to have his family's private life in the spotlight but the fight for equality was ultimately worth it.
While his community had been largely supportive, he said he still had to deal with taunts in the schoolyard.
"To hear they were going ahead with the postal survey was pretty disappointing.
"I don't think we can change the fact it's going to go out but we can change how people vote."
Eddie said he wanted other country kids who couldn't speak up themselves to know they were not alone and that they deserved respect.
"People are saying stuff about our families, they are saying we aren't normal, that we are second rate - don't listen, be yourself," he said.
Eddie's mother Neroli said she believed Australians would resoundly vote yes if they participated in the survey.
"We know our towns are better if we're equal and diverse," she said.
Mr Shorten said people who were tired of the debate should vote yes in the survey.
"We have a chance to just get on with it," he said.
"We need to just have the vote and be done with it.
"Please vote, change in this country only ever happens when people participate in the change, please don't leave this change to other people.
"They're raising their kids, they're in loving relationships and they just want the same deal that all other families have."
