Richard Di Natale's rainbow-painted shoes

The postal survey to determine public support returned a 61.6% 'yes' result. Liberal Senator Dean Smith introduced a bill to amend the Marriage Act, with bipartisan support in the form of eight co-sponsors, including Di Natale for the Greens. 

The shoes were given to Di Natale by Primrose Holland, daughter of Reverend Ric Holland, a Uniting Church minister based in central Melbourne. In the Senate, Di Natale recounted the story of walking past a church and seeing a large 'yes' banner during the postal survey. He contacted the church and met Reverend Holland, who was advocating to his congregation and the surrounding community that marriage should be for everyone.  

This was considered an unusual view at the time, as many religious groups opposed same-sex marriage, and many individuals opposed the idea on religious grounds. However, Reverend Holland said that the message of the church is that all people are equal, and that the Uniting Church had already recognised the equality of LGBTQIA+ people by removing all requirements for selection of ministers, meaning some members of same-sex couples were already serving as ministers. 

Reverend Holland had a pair of rainbow-coloured sneakers that his daughter Primrose had made for the campaign in his office. Di Natale asked about them and a few days later she delivered a pair to his office. 

Wearing the shoes in the chamber, Di Natale said: 

'I wear [these shoes] to bring the rainbow colours into this Chamber as a show of solidarity with the people from LGBTIQ communities.  

I wear them to remind us that the support for yes and for a change to the Marriage Act comes from all corners of the Australian community, including from faith communities.  

And I wear them to take inspiration from the change that we're creating with LGBTIQ communities to go on and work harder for change with other communities – with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; for safety and equality for women; for an end to the stigma and discrimination experienced by people with disabilities; for an end to racism, wherever it rears its ugly head; for a safe refuge and new life for people escaping war and violence; for an end to poverty; for the protection of nature in our precious places; and for action on global warming.'   

Di Natale had previously spoken on numerous occasions about the impact of the debate on the mental health of same-sex couples. The legislation to legalise same-sex marriage was passed on 7 December 2017.