Mardi Gras votes by tiny margin to keep NSW Police in Sydney parade

Members of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have narrowly voted against three contentious resolutions that would have prevented NSW Police from marching in the 2025 parade.

At the organisation’s annual meeting on Saturday, the first motion put forward by the event’s board would have barred police until “such time as they demonstrate a commitment to improving relationships with LGBTQIA+ communities”. It went down, with 493 votes against to 459 in favour.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb (centre) marches with colleagues at the 2023 Mardi Gras parade.Credit: AP

A second and more severe resolution put forward by activist group Pride in Protest was also rejected. The motion called for police to be banned without providing any avenue for them to rejoin in the future.

A third motion, put forward by Rainbow Labor supporting police marching at the parade but without uniforms or weapons, was also defeated.

It marks a dramatic culmination following the Herald’s revelation on Thursday that the board had presented the motion to ban police after consulting members and community, with a survey finding a majority of members were supportive of excluding police from the 2025 parade.

The consultation was criticised by some members who said the survey of 96 members in early September was not representative given Mardi Gras’ total membership was about 3500.

The Mardi Gras board had presented the motion to ban police after consulting members and community.Credit: Getty Images

Former Mardi Gras co-chair Steph Sands said she would vote against the motion because of the precedent it would set, despite personally believing NSW Police should not march. She called for a framework to allow groups – including police – who participated in the parade to be held accountable if they breached a set of criteria.

“No one should have the power to exclude an organisation from our parade, whether that’s police or any other group,” she told the Herald.

A NSW Police spokeswoman welcomed the outcome of the annual meeting, saying the force valued its “ongoing close relationship” with Mardi Gras to “ensure the safety and success of its events”.

“The NSW Police Force has been marching in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras since 1998, and for the LGBTQIA+ staff and allies within the NSW Police Force as well as their friends and family, this remains an important and significant annual event,” she said.

“The NSW Police Force is dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ communities and takes pride in its role as a community leader for inclusion and diversity.”

Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said: “I thank the membership of Mardi Gras for voting to ensure we continue to have an inclusive parade that welcomes LGBTQ+ police.”

“There is no denying the police have more work to do to improve on their brutal past towards the LGBTQ community, but I’m confident they are working hard on this and focused on improving LGBTQ+ safety.”

Mardi Gras was contacted for comment.

Pride in Protest live-blogged the annual meeting on X, formerly Twitter. Mardi Gras members shared traumatic experiences of police, and others argued that the best way to reform the institution was to keep them within the tent, with one member criticising the board’s handling of the saga.

“I’m extremely surprised this has come from the board,” the member said. “If the board feels they’re not getting the outcomes they want from the police, then [the board] need to do better. If you haven’t got the skills to communicate, negotiate with the police, then you need to get help.”

Mardi Gras chief executive Gil Beckwith attends the annual meeting at the University of Sydney on Saturday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Pride in Protest member Riley Brooke said while the debate wasn’t new, perceptions had shifted this year because of “stories of police violence”, arguing that individual officers can march with their community groups but “not representing NSW Police”.

On Friday, federal Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek backed in the comments of Greenwich, who decried the push to exclude police, saying on social media platform X: “So many people over so many years have worked hard to improve relationships between the police and the LGBTQIA+ community. Mardi Gras is about unity in our community not exclusion.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns on Thursday implored Mardi Gras members to keep NSW Police as part of the parade, saying one of the special aspects of the event was its ability to bring Sydney together, and the decision to exclude police would undermine that.

“The NSW Police Force has radically changed in the last decades,” Minns said. “There’s many, many gay and lesbian members of NSW Police that serve with distinction and regard themselves as members of the LGBTQ community.

“I think it would be a slap in the face for them if the organisers uninvite them … It’s a bit hypocritical to ban them from marching if you’re going to rely on them, as everybody does for major events, for security.”

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