Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has appointed a treasurer for the first time in three years after it was criticised by members at the organisation’s recent annual general meeting for not having one to provide it with financial guidance.
Brad Booth, one of the newly elected Mardi Gras board members, will serve as the not-for-profit charity’s treasurer. A treasurer is typically responsible for looking after an organisation’s finances in more detail and helps provide it with information needed for financial decision-making.

“Booth brings strong financial management and governance experience to the Treasurer role as a qualified chartered accountant and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors,” Mardi Gras said in an email to members last week.
He currently works as the director of service excellence and innovation at the University of Sydney. His previous roles include serving as a director of QueerScreen, operator of the Mardi Gras Film Festival, and positions at Charles Sturt University and GrainCorp.
The email to members also announced that recently re-elected Mardi Gras board director Brandon Bear and director Kathy Pavlich had been appointed board co-chairs. Co-chairs are appointed by the board.

At the annual general meeting of Mardi Gras in December, members raised concerns about the lack of a treasurer to oversee the organisation’s finances. Additionally, they questioned the inclusion of a “treasurer’s report” in the 2024 financial report, which notably lacked a treasurer’s signature.
The concerns were raised in the context of Mardi Gras reporting a $1.24 million deficit for the financial year ending June 2024, a stark contrast to its $176,253 surplus in the previous year.
“Why was there a treasurer’s report printed when there was no treasurer? Why was the treasurer’s report not signed? Well, that was because there was no treasurer,” said a member at the meeting.
The same member also criticised the way Mardi Gras’ latest financial report referenced the deaths of community members Jesse Baird and Luke Davies during 2024’s festival season.
“Why on earth did you see fit to utilise the deaths of two community members to try [to] explain away the appalling [financial] results that the organisation had with the loss?” the member said.
“How dare you and how dare certain parts of the membership use the death of people to exploit the community and try and get…” the member continued before the microphone was cut-off due to a time limit imposed on questions.
Another member questioned the organisation’s past financial trends when it lacked a treasurer with adequate qualifications, like a chartered accountant or someone with substantial business skills.
“Every time we didn’t have that was when we made a loss,” the member said. “So why do we still continue with not having a treasurer?
“I accept that when [current CEO] Gil [Beckwith] was chief financial officer … we had some strong financial and some robust financial support there, but with Gil moving on to CEO, why don’t we have a treasurer?”
Director Brandon Bear said he would take on board the point that there was “a report named treasurer’s report without a treasurer signing off on it”.
“We will … look to that next year, whoever’s on the board I’m sure will look to it the next year, .. whether it’s called a financial report not a treasurer’s report, if that’s what’s being presented without a treasurer.”
Mardi Gras CEO Gil Beckwith revealed to the meeting that she had written the 2024 treasurer’s report but added that it wasn’t a requirement in the organisation’s constitution for there to be a treasurer.
“When I came on as chief financial officer, the board decided that at that level, that I was actually working in that area, that a treasurer wasn’t needed for the board,” she said.
“The report, the treasurer’s report that actually sits in the annual report, was done by me. I have worked, actually, doing the chief financial officer role partially as well as being CEO in the past year.”
Mardi Gras’ email also informed its members of the work it had been doing to improve its governance.
“At the 2024 Annual General Meeting, the [board] Co-Chairs informed the membership of the need to ensure upskilling and education of board members on their duties and obligations takes place as general practice within Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras,” it said.
This followed a report commissioned by Mardi Gras financial backer Destination NSW that revealed significant shortcomings in financial oversight and raised serious concerns about the independence of the board.
Since the annual general meeting, the board has taken steps to deliver on this for 2025, it said, “including an in-depth joint-session between the Board and Operations Leadership on Director’s Duties in relation to financial management and custodianship of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras”.
The email said the board would also undertake a full-day onboarding in January in collaboration with the operations team. Formal governance and financial literacy training would also be provided following the 2025 festival.
Mardi Gras also said it would shortly address the result of two successfully passed motions at the annual general meeting titled “Mardi Gras Needs to Do More to Support Western Sydney & Regional NSW Queers” and “Mardi Gras Supporting Freedoms and Dignity for Trans Women in Detention”.
“The Board will be considering its position on the substantive content of these motions and will inform the membership of the outcomes of these discussions following the 2025 festival,” it said.
Editor’s note: Journalist Ben Grubb pays $50 annually for Mardi Gras memberships to access discounts, including at retail stores and bars, but doesn’t use the membership’s voting rights.
Gay Sydney News editor