National lobby and advocacy group Just.Equal Australia wants to know who LGBTIQA+ Australians believe should be able to march in pride parades, including whether police or politicians should be included.
Founded during the marriage equality campaign, Just.Equal has since grown to lobby on things like Census inclusion and religious freedoms, among other campaigns. Its board is made up of a diverse group from across Australia including several recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
This year’s Mardi Gras celebration was marred by the debate over whether police could march in the annual parade following the death of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, allegedly at the hands of a serving NSW police officer.
Initially, the Sydney Mardi Gras organisation prevented NSW Police from marching before it reversed its decision and allowed LGBTI+ officers to march, albeit out of their official uniform.
“Police participation in pride parades has been a controversial issue for several years,” said Just.Equal spokesperson and social science researcher Dr Sharon Dane.
“There has also been debate about the participation of particular political, religious and business groups in pride parades and other pride events.”
There was a divide in the queer community at the time Mardi Gras made its initial decision to prevent police from marching.
At the time of the debate, activist group Pride in Protest shared on Instagram a scathing statement criticising the Mardi Gras board for backflipping and allowing police to march.
“The NSW Police is not an institution that we can trust to keep us safe, and certainly not an institution that should be invited to our parade.
“We are horrified and outraged by the Mardi Gras board’s betrayal of the queer community,” Pride in Protest said then.
NSW Premier Chris Minns defended the NSW Police and insisted officers should march despite some backlash.
“It should be really acknowledged that there’s a lot of gay and lesbian members of the NSW Police Force. Traditionally, they are the group that have fought for the right to march and that has been seen in recent years as a real effort to bring the community together,” he said.
A change.org petition was started during this period, calling on Mardi Gras to not allow police to march; it received just over 1000 signatures.
That is why Just.Equal says it has launched a new survey to get feedback from the public about who should and should not march in pride parades.
“Just.Equal believe the views of the LGBTIQA+ community should shape public policy, especially on controversial issues like participation in pride events,” the organisation’s Dr Sharon Dane said.
Dane said the survey asks community members for their view on police, religious, political and business participation in pride events, and under what conditions such participation is acceptable.
“We will ensure pride organisations and the media are aware of the results of the survey to better inform the debate in coming years,” Dane said.
The survey can be filled out online.
Editor’s note: 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.
Gay Sydney News reporter