The standing down of a Sydney Mardi Gras director who missed a number of board meetings has sparked fury from Pride in Protest, the left-wing activist group he represented.
Timothy “Skip” Blofield, a unionist and nurse, was stood down from his Mardi Gras directorship position last Friday because the organisation said he had missed a number of board meetings.
The Mardi Gras constitution states that a director ceases to be on the board if they are “absent without permission of the Board from more than 3 consecutive meetings of directors”.
Blofield did not respond to a Gay Sydney News request for comment.
But Pride In Protest – which labels itself “a grassroots collective in so-called Sydney who wish to restore the protest roots of Mardi Gras and challenge systems of injustice” – told GSN it disputes Blofield was absent from three consecutive meetings.
A Pride in Protest spokesperson said Blofield had only missed two meetings and that this was due to his role as a surgical nurse.
A Mardi Gras financial report shows Blofield was often absent from meetings. It shows he attended just 4 out of a possible 11 board meetings in the 2022-23 financial year. It was not immediately clear which ones he was given permission to not attend.
Pride in Protest has been behind many unsuccessful shakeups of the Mardi Gras organisation.
It has previously pushed to ban the Liberal Party and police from the Mardi Gras parade, as well as demanded a review of the organisation’s relationship with corporate sponsors like Qantas and ANZ. It has also called for sniffer dogs at Mardi Gras to be banned, and for an end to mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
Blofield began as a director on November 26 last year after being elected with the second-highest primary vote out of 14 candidates. He was due to serve in his capacity as a board member until 2024.
In an Instagram post, Pride In Protest said that when Blofield was elected he was “open about the restrictions that his profession would put on his availability, and was active in trying to find work-arounds and alternative measures to enable his participation”.
Pride In Protest said this involved “sending in notice and apologies when he knew he would be unavailable”.
Pride In Protest said that Blofield found the board to be uncooperative and demanded his presence at a meeting when he had previously flagged he would be on shift at the time.
“It is disgraceful that a working-class queer person who is an essential worker would be punished because of the job which he needs to do to survive, and which directly saves lives,” it said. “This is only another sign that the board of [Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras] is out-of-touch with the real pressures and experiences of ordinary queer people.”
In a statement to GSN, Mardi Gras confirmed that an unnamed board member had transitioned out of their role due to non-attendance.
“We wish to clarify that this is not an outcome of a specific decision by the Board, but a procedural requirement,” a Mardi Gras spokesperson said.
“Despite efforts to engage and communicate with the member, including attempts to discuss their attendance and opportunities to provide apologies or request leave of absence, the required participation was not maintained.”
Mardi Gras said active participation of the board was essential for effective governance and to fulfil its commitment to the community.
“Our organisation values the contributions of all its board members and understands the challenges of balancing various commitments,” the spokesperson said.
“However, the effective operation of our organisation depends on the commitment of our board members to fulfil their roles as outlined in our Constitution.”
It’s not the first time Blofield has been the centre of controversy within Mardi Gras. Back in May, the board moved to censure him following comments he made about police brutality, “pinkwashing” and Indigenous justice at a panel during WorldPride.
While the board gave him two possible dates to come to the censure meeting to discuss his comments, the media outlet Star Observer reported that he was unable to attend either of them due to his work commitments.
“I’m a theatre nurse,” he said at the time. “I scrub up for surgery. I can’t just ditch that on a whim. So I said, ‘I’m not able to attend’.”
When he was elected, Blofield said he had never been prouder to represent queer workers “who are struggling against forces which seek to divide us, whether it’s police breaking picket lines, or bosses squeezing our wages in a cost of living crisis. I thoroughly look forward to representing the grassroots community on the Board”.
The scene has now been set for a dramatic Mardi Gras annual general meeting in just over two weeks’ time on Saturday, December 9.
Pride in Protest says it will call for the reinstatement of Blofield as a board member, an apology, and for the resignation of Gio Campolo-Arcidiaco as chairperson.
At the end of the 2023 financial year, Mardi Gras had 4845 members, up 20 per cent from 4209 the year prior.
Editor’s note: Both Grubb and Eliot Hastie pay $50 to Mardi Gras for yearly membership discounts but do not exercise any of their voting rights.
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: eliot.hastie@gaysydneynews.com.au
Ben Grubb is the founder and editor of Gay Sydney News, an independent publication covering LGBTQIA+ news. A journalist with more than 15 years' experience, he has reported and edited for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAToday, Brisbane Times, The Australian Financial Review, News.com.au, ZDNet, TelecomTimes and iTnews, primarily on the topic of technology. He previously hosted The Informer, a queer current affairs program on Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 radio station, and contributes to LGBTQIA+ media including Stun Magazine. Ben has also appeared as a technology commentator on Channel Ten's The Project, ABC RN’s Download This Show and commercial radio stations 2UE, 2GB and 6PR. Contact Ben: ben.grubb@gaysydneynews.com.au
