Multiple Motions To Ban NSW Police From Marching In Mardi Gras Parade Have Failed
Image: Photo: Mark Baker/AAP
Multiple motions to ban the NSW Police Force from the Mardi Gras Parade in 2025 and beyond have been shot down by voting members in today’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Annual General Meeting.
The first motion was raised by the SGLMG Board with the suggestion that the NSW Police Force would not be able to march in the parade “until such time as they demonstrate a commitment to improving relationships with LGBTQIA+ communities.”
The Board did not recommend for members to vote for or against the motion, and acknowledged concerns about the NSW Police, but did not seek to permanently ban them as an organisation from the Parade.
How did Mardi Gras members vote in the motions about police in the parade?
As reported by Pride in Protest on Twitter/X, three speakers for and against the motion spoke to the membership on this highly contentious issue. Ultimately, the motion to ban the NSW Police Force from the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade failed with 459 votes for, 493 against and 26 abstentions.
A second motion to ban NSW Police, raised by activist group Pride in Protest, proposed a permanent ban that would see the police banned from the Parade entirely. Procedural motions to not hear the Pride in Protest motion or any of its speakers both failed.
After one speaker for and one against, the Pride in Protest motion to fully ban the NSW Police force from Mardi Gras also failed, with 425 for, 522 against and 2 abstentions.
Additionally, Rainbow Labor’s motion in support of police marching in the parade for the next 5 years did not succeed with 425 votes for, 522 against and 2 abstentions.
Given that none of the three motions surrounding police’s participation in the Mardi Gras parade passed, it’s unclear exactly what role police will play in the Parade going forward.
The AGM is being held all day today, with discussions continuing into the afternoon.
Pride in Protest say police’s Mardi Gras participation saved by intervention by NSW Govt
Pride in Protest spokesperson Damien Nguyen says the group is “disappointed”, but see the narrow margin as a sign of progress, and police being barred from Mardi Gras is a matter “of when, not if”.
“This is a big step forward, but it’s not quite a win. We’re disappointed that there has been a loss, but we know now that it’s a question of when, not if, the police will be removed from the parade.
“Today, the police were saved only by an intervention from the NSW Government, which has campaigned in the media and had Ministers sign up as Mardi Gras members to join the vote,” said Nguyen.
“This is an attack on the self-determination of our parade: a straight Premier is issuing orders to our community that we must welcome an institution that community consultations have demonstrated we don’t want, and that continues to abuse and harass us every single day.”
This story originally appeared on Star Observer.
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