The City of Sydney will be tasked with investigating whether to add five additional colours to the city’s public pride flag artworks under a proposal being put forward by an independent councillor.
Councillor Adam Worling has listed a motion for Monday night’s council meeting asking its chief executive to look at updating the city’s existing public pride flag artworks at Taylor Square and Prince Alfred Park to the progress pride flag design. These artworks currently use the original rainbow flag consisting of six colours.
The progress flag includes a chevron (a V-shaped element) comprising black and brown for Indigenous people and people of colour, and white, pink and blue, to represent trans, nonbinary and gender diverse people. Already the progress flag is flown around the city and appears on some street signs.
Notably, the progress flag also formed the basis for “Progress Shark” – a shark wrapped in a progress flag that was on display at the Australian Museum during WorldPride.
Councillor Worling’s motion asks the city’s chief executive to also “investigate additional locations and opportunities for new pride crossings in the City of Sydney, utilising the Progress Pride Flag design”. It further asks that the council’s chief executive report back on potential locations, a timeline and a budget.
The City of Sydney’s 2018 community wellbeing survey indicated that 21.3 per cent of residents identified as LGBTIQA+, the highest population of LGBTIQA+ people in Australia.
The City of Sydney currently has two permanent, public pride flag artworks: one rainbow crossing at the corner of Bourke and Campbell streets, at Taylor Square south, and one 90-metre rainbow path crossing at Prince Alfred Park near Central.
Rainbow crossings were first installed in West Hollywood in 2012 to promote Pride Month. There have since been multiple rainbow crossings instigated around the world – everywhere from San Francisco to Adelaide and Tel Aviv to London.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras adopted the progress pride flag instead of the rainbow flag during the 2021 Mardi Gras festival, and the City of Sydney resolved to do the same going forward.
In a separate motion, Councillor Worling will ask council to endorse a motion to establish a network of LGBTIQA+ identifying and allied councillors that will be put forward for consideration at the upcoming 2023 Local Government NSW Conference in November.
Worling told GSN he hoped his motion to establish the network would highlight that anyone could join council – including queer people.
“I don’t know it’s there are five of us [queer councillors] out there, if there are 50 of us out there. Regardless of how many, I think we just need a little bit of visibility,” he said.
“Wouldn’t it be great if [younger people] could actually see this person’s actually a councilor for the City of Sydney [and that] it’s actually possible that you can do this job?”
Councillor Worling grew up in Lismore and is an out and proud gay man. He is part of the Clover Moore Independent Team.
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
