Protect and Serve: Police and Mardi Gras
CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses LGBTQIA+ hate crime, police brutality, and homophobia.
Why have the NSW Police been uninvited to the 2024 Sydney Mardi Gras?
Police participation in Mardi Gras has been a long contested issue across the world. The decision was made by the Mardi Gras board to withdraw the invitation to the NSW Police to march this year. This came after the alleged murder of gay couple, Jessie Baird, and Luke Davies by police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon. The Mardi Gras spokesperson stated that “Their concerns centre on whether it can still be a space to protest, celebrate, and advocate for equality, as well as to honour and grieve for those we've lost”. They wanted to ensure that LGBTQIA+ people attending the event could feel the most safety and inclusivity at the event during this distressing time.
After Commissioner Karen Webb and LGBTQIA+ police officers showcased their disappointment in the decision, NSW Police and the Mardi Gras board came to an agreement. They would allow police officers to march in plain clothes. Commissioner Webb said, "I am delighted that our LGBTQIA+ officers, as well as our other police who are allies and supporters, will be allowed to march this year as they have done for the past 20 years.” Officers will march as a group, but without the NSW Police float.
So, why is this such a contentious issue for so many LGBTQIA+ people?
In 1972, reform was called for after the murder of South Australian gay academic George Duncan by police officers. A bill was introduced in July 1972 by Liberal party member Murray Hill that decriminalised homosexual acts between consenting males over the age of 21. This was followed by South Australia decriminalising homosexuality in 1975.
In 1978, the first Mardi Gras began after a small group of LGBTQIA+ people held a street party to protest for and celebrate gay rights in Darlinghurst, Sydney. This night ended with the assault of 53 LGBTQIA+ people during and after their arrest. Later the same week, the Sydney Morning Herald printed the names, occupations, and home addresses of those arrested. Many of the people named lost jobs, families, friends and even houses. The decriminalisation of homosexuality in NSW came only 6 years after this defining moment in history.
These events are only the smallest percentage of the discrimination and violence LGBTQIA+ people have faced from the police in charge of keeping the community safe. 20 years later police were invited to march in the parade. 1978 Mardi Gras attendee Robyn Kennedy said, "They were invited because they had started to change their culture. By then they were employing gay and lesbian liaison officers.” The public perception and laws had also begun to accept and welcome LGBTQIA+ people.
Even after Australia-wide reforms and expansive social acceptance, many queer people still feel unsafe with police. NSW launched a special commission of inquiry to examine the unsolved murders or suspicious deaths of LGBTQIA+ people in NSW between 1970 and 2010. It was found that police failed to thoroughly investigate 32 suspected murders over the 40 years and thousands of other potential gay hate crimes. The Victorian Pride Lobby surveyed over 1,500 LGBTQIA+ people, with 80% surveyed stating they “did not feel they could trust the police to use their powers reasonably”. It also found that 4 in 5 surveyed didn’t “feel safe when there was a large police presence at community events”.
Multigenerational Activist group Pride in Protest has continued to advocate for police to be permanently banned from marching. They have stated that the alleged murder of Jessie Baird and Luke Davies is “the most recent instance of longstanding and deep-rooted institutionally supported abuse, racism, and homophobia rampant within the NSW Police”. They have long supported the permanent removal of police as well as restrictions on the level of police presence at LGBTQIA+ events. An Instagram user on Pride in Protest’s most recent Instagram post commented, “As a queer elder who fought so hard for us as a community, I've never understood Mardi Gras willingness to have police involved”.
In 2020, Victoria Police officers were suspended from duty and charged after mugshots and other images of former Australian rules football player and coach Danielle Laidley were taken and distributed. She had undergone gender affirmation surgery but had not yet come out to the majority of her family or the public.
A senior NSW Police officer unlawfully arrested and assaulted transgender woman Anya Bradford in 2019. He then was found to have falsified evidence related to the event and was sentenced to spend at least 18 months in prison.
With all the contention around police at Mardi Gras, should they be allowed back in uniform next year?
The Mardi Gras board hasn't yet disclosed if the decision made this year will continue into next year’s event. Many LGBTQIA+ NSW Police officers have come out in celebration that they were still able to march this year.
Gay and Aboriginal serving NSW Police officer, ‘Joe’, states that he fights “within the organisation for what is right”. He works “tirelessly to build relationships between the police and [his] communities.” Within the NSW Police, initiatives are being implemented to ensure acceptance and understanding, both internally and externally. Retired gay Police officer, ‘Chris’, thinks that this is the wrong way to be dealing with the issue of police violence against LGBTQIA+ people. He said “I don’t know what’s achieved by removing 20 or 30 queer cops from the parade, who are valued members of our community, who are the ones advocating for change and making sure LGBTQIA+ people are receiving the best services possible”.
They are “continuing to strengthen the relationship between [the NSW Police] and the LGBTQIA+ community”, this being one of the key recommendations put forward in a special commission of inquiry. Many of these initiatives are piloted by LGBTQIA+ people in the organisation. To not only exclude the NSW Police force from Mardi Gras but assume that the whole of the force is homophobic or transphobic devalues the work many officers and lawmakers have put in to change.
Mardi Gras started as a protest with extreme police retaliation, but this doesn't mean that current NSW Police officers hold the same ideas. Many want to celebrate their identity, both LGBTQIA+ and law enforcement. The NSW Police institution has moved forward on ensuring this violence is not felt again, but have they done enough? With compromise was made this year, the future of Mardi Gras is yet to be decided with neither side seeming to have fully agreed with the outcome for 2024.
References Used
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-28/nsw-police-officers-allowed-march-sydney-mardi-gras/103523396
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/mardi-gras-details-decision-to-uninvite-nsw-police/fvhtnf89v
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bn59/nsw-police-mardi-gras
https://theconversation.com/the-policing-of-lgbtq-people-casts-a-long-dark-shadow-marching-at-mardi-gras-must-be-backed-up-with-real-change-224633#:~:text=The first Mardi Gras in,and professions of those arrested.
https://www.mardigras.org.au/history-of-sydney-mardi-gras/
https://www.outforaustralia.org/blog/a-history-of-pride-in-australia
https://overland.org.au/2020/12/why-cops-dont-deserve-a-float-at-mardi-gras/
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/submissions/62574/0032. Ms Sue Thompson Attachments 1-3.pdf