The Board of Directors of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have announced they will not adopt the motion to un-invite the Prime Minister from celebrations next year.
The motion put forward at the Annual General Meeting in November by the membership recommended that the board should not formally invite Prime Minister Turnbull to Mardi Gras festivities in 2017.
“The AGM of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras does not believe that a Prime Minister who denies us equality should be welcome as an official guest at our parade,” the motion read.
“We ask the Board to act in accordance with this position and issue a public statement as it applies to the current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the 2017 Mardi Gras parade and does not invite him as an official guest to the parade.”
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board revealed in a media statement this week that they would not honour the motion as it is not in accordance with the organisations constitutional objective to “build strong, positive and beneficial relationships between the gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer and intersex with the wider community.”
“The Board understands members’ concerns about the issue of marriage equality being politicised by the majority parties, to the detriment of the emotional state and wellbeing of our community,” the statement continues.
“As a cornerstone cultural event in Sydney, Mardi Gras values the healthy dialogue we create with a broad spectrum of political parties. During our 2017 Festival we will provide many opportunities to host and highlight debates, campaigns and opinions about the way forward for achieving marriage equality among many other topics related to LGBTIQ lives, culture and rights.”
OIP Staff
