August 2021 will go down in the history books as one of the most momentous months for rainbow communities, because, only last week, the conversion practices bill passed its first reading and Laurel Hubbard competed as the first openly trans woman at the Olympics. Who knows how well Laurel could have performed if the entire world wasn't watching her so closely, with so many of them judging her, not just for being there but for her very existence. Tēnā koe e te rangatira. Greetings to all of you in the gallery tonight, all our youth leaders, all of our community leaders, and a particular shout-out to Mani Mitchell, whose leadership for intersex people has taught us all, and as a mentor to me, tēnā koe.