NSW Premier Chris Minns defends police marching at Mardi Gras

NSW Premier Chris Minns has rejected calls for police to skip a pride parade amid criticism over the death of a Sydney couple allegedly killed by an officer.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has defended the presence of police marching in the upcoming Mardi Gras parade despite pushback over the alleged murder of a Sydney couple by a serving police officer.

Police allege Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were murdered by NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon at their Paddington home after investigators located a projectile linked to a service firearm.

The couple’s death sparked outrage among the state’s LGBTQ+ community, with some calling for NSW Police to pull out of the annual gay and lesbian pride march in Darlinghurst this week.

Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Monday, Mr Minns said officers should be able to participate in the march and dismissed suggestions organisers could pull the their invitation to police.

“I have to say, I think police should march,” Mr Minns said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has defended the presence of police marching in the upcoming Mardi Gras parade. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“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.”

Mr Minns said police officers investigating the alleged killing “shouldn’t be held responsible for … the allegations are very serious”, and that many officers had faced discrimination in their line of work.

“A lot of serving police officers who identify as gay have suffered a lot of discrimination but stuck within policing as a profession,” he said.

“They marched in the Mardi Gras as a demonstration of the fact that they’re police officers, and that’s their sexuality.

“Yanking their invitation I think would be a regressive step and probably not indicative of the fact that they’ve gone through a lot to be a police officer.”

Police allege Luke Davies (left) and Jesse Baird (right) were murdered by NSW police officer, Beau Lamarre-Condon. Picture: Instagram

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who identifies as being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, backed the presence of police in the march but said the alleged killings highlighted “safety concerns”.

“Well, we have two issues here … We have the police response to the special commission of Inquiry into LGBTQ Hate Crimes, which the Police Commissioner apologised for yesterday,” he told Nine.

“We also have this tragic incident of a police officer allegedly murdering two beautiful, innocent, young men. These are separate issues, but they do go to the safety concerns among the LGBTQ community.

“Me, personally, I want the police to stand with us every day of the year, and that includes at Mardi Gras … So, I want to see the police march with us at Mardi Gras. I want to see them stand with us every day of the year.”

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb also backed police being in the march. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

For her part, Ms Webb also backed the presence of police in the march. She told 2GB’s Ben Fordham it would be a “setback as a community” if the invitation to police was withdrawn by organisers.

“In my view, we have been building a bridge with the gay and lesbian community since the 78s were mishandled by police back in the day,” she said, referring to activists who marched in the first Mardi Gras.

“We have been participating in Mardi Gras for the last 20 years and haven’t missed a year. I would hate to see that this is the year that we are excluded because of the actions of one person that is not gay hate related.

“This is a crime of passion. We allege it is domestic related and that would be a real travesty for this organisation to be excluded. It is an event on the calendar that we as an organisation look forward to participating in.

Ms Webb latter added: “Many of my officers seek approval to participate who are also members of the (LGBTQ+) community, and to shut the door on them … it would set us backwards”.

Police allege the couple were killed by Mr Lamarre-Condon, a celebrity blogger turned police officer, inside Mr Baird’s Paddington home sometime between 12am and 5.30am on Monday.

Mr Lamarre-Condon has since been charged with two counts of murder and fronted Waverly Local Court last week were he was formally refused bail. He will reappear before the court on April 23.