Activist group Pride in Protest will bring several contentious motions to the Sydney Mardi Gras annual general meeting this Saturday, including calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, an end to specific corporate deals, and for police and other authorities to be removed from participating in the parade.
The group says the partnership Mardi Gras has with American Express should be discontinued due to the company’s alleged financial discrimination of sex workers.
Meanwhile, it says the Qantas partnership should be torn up due to the airline’s role in deporting asylum seekers for the Australian government.
The board has recommended members vote against the Qantas and American Express motions, saying “ending the sponsorship could have significant financial and strategic repercussions … potentially affecting [Sydney Mardi Gras’] ability to support various LGBTQIA+ initiatives”.
Among Pride in Protest’s most contentious motions is a call for the Mardi Gras organisation to uphold a Palestinian-led movement calling for boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel over the war.
The motion will call on Mardi Gras to bar partnerships or donations from a number of brands including Hewlett Packard and Puma, to accept no partnerships or donations from the state of Israel, and to condemn the Albanese and Minns government for what it says is their failure to support Palestinian civilians and Palestinian demonstrations in Sydney.
“We cannot let this massacre be pinkwashed by [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers cynically waving around pride flags as they bomb and kill tens of thousands of people in Gaza,” said Pride in Protest Mardi Gras board candidate Luc Velez.
Velez was referring to an image of an Israel Defense Forces soldier raising the rainbow flag with the words “‘in the name of love” written on it that was posted by Israeli government social media accounts in November.
Velez told GSN that having a debate on topics like the war was important because it was good to discuss politics and what solidarity looks like.
The Mardi Gras board has recommended members vote against the motion concerning the war, arguing that the organisation “is primarily dedicated to advocating for LGBTIQ rights and welfare”.
“Expanding its focus to encompass complex international political issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could dilute its message and effectiveness in its core area,” the board said.
“[Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras], like any organisation, has a finite capacity for advocacy.
“Engaging in every global issue, especially those outside the direct realm of LGBTIQ matters, can overextend its resources and detract from its key mission.”
It’s not the first time Pride in Protest has brought forward contentious motions at a Sydney Mardi Gras annual general meeting.
In 2022, the Mardi Gras board quashed a handful of motions, including ones preventing the NSW Police, Australian Federal Police, Defence Force and Liberal Party from marching in the parade.
This year, Pride in Protest is again calling for certain floats to be excluded, including those organised by the NSW Police, Australian Federal Police, Corrective Services NSW and the Defence Force.
The group’s reasoning is because of their alleged involvement in Indigenous deaths in custody, violence towards LGBTI+ people and, in the case of the Defence Force, due to their “waging of imperial war in Afghanistan”.
Pride in Protest has also again brought forward a motion to cancel the Mardi Gras Police Accord, which it says “grants sweeping authority to police to harass, demand and bully individuals at Mardi Gras events”. The Accord is a memorandum of understanding between Sydney Mardi Gras and the NSW Police that exists, according to Mardi Gras, “to ensure all people attending our events feel safe, protected and are treated fairly”.
“Mardi Gras needs to decide whose side it’s on: the community or the corporations?” said Pride in Protest’s Timothy “Skip” Blofield, who was recently stood down from the Mardi Gras board due to not attending a number of its meetings.
“We need a queer movement that can win real change, and that means our community leaders need to take up the call for a cease-fire, to fight for trans rights, and to end police brutality.”
The Mardi Gras board says the Accord refers specifically to the parade and not to other Mardi Gras events.
“The parade takes place in a public environment, and no special dispensations are granted to [NSW Police] by the Accord. The cancellation of the Accord will not result in any of the actions highlighted in the motion.”
Mardi Gras confirmed to GSN that all motions will be heard at the upcoming annual general meeting to be held 9am this Saturday at the University of Sydney Business School.
This article was written by Eliot Hastie. Hastie pays $50 to Sydney Mardi Gras for yearly membership discounts but does not exercise any of his voting rights.
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
