Big Issues

The Sydney Mardi Gras Board Betrayed Us

by Ky Stewart  1 March 2024
police marching mardi gras gay pride sydney first mardi gras

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When the Sydney Mardi Gras board announced they had disinvited NSW Police from marching in the 2024 parade, the queer community finally felt heard and supported. While the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies prompted the decision, queer and Indigenous people have long advocated for police to be banned from participating in Mardi Gras.  

After news broke that Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were allegedly murdered by serving NSW Police Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon, it opened a floodgate of grief, despair, and anger within our community. Not only are the Sydney queer community, and the Australian queer community at large, mourning the loss of two bright souls, we’re also trying to deal with a truth that we’ve always known: That we don’t feel safe in police presence. 

That’s why, following the alleged murders, many in the community renewed their calls to ban NSW police from marching in the parade. For some, mostly those who were cis, white, and straight, it was a shocking request. Not to me. As an Indigenous queer person, it was obvious that the request was rooted in the oppressive and violent history the police have had with the queer and Indigenous communities. 

When the Sydney Mardi Gras board announced they had uninvited the NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police then announced they would not be marching in the parade, a lot of us breathed a sigh of relief. It was a positive sign that our concerns, fears, and frustrations had been heard and we could celebrate Mardi Gras and mourn the loss of Jesse and Luke. 

But, of course, that wasn’t acceptable to the NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, who said it would be a “travesty” if police were excluded from Mardi Gras. To me, the real travesty is the alleged murder of two queer men by a police officer using a police-issued weapon. But sure, not marching in a parade celebrating the very people who don’t feel safe in your presence is the real travesty. 

Some have argued that banning the police from Mardi Gras doesn’t make sense because Beau Lamarre-Condon is also part of the queer community. That misses the point. It doesn’t matter if a police officer is straight or queer — they’re part of an institution with a history steeped in systemic racism, violence, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny. Police aggression and abuse of power is the issue, allegedly using a police gun to kill two people is the issue, police once again proving they don’t understand how to engage with the queer community is the issue, not the fact that the accused is queer.

Due to the pressures from the police, and some elected officials, the Mardi Gras board announced they were reversing their decision and police were allowed to attend, just not in uniforms. It was a slap in the face, to put it lightly. (This is also not helpful: According to Pride in Protest, Sydney bar managers have been pressured to remove anti-police behaviour from their establishments.)

Many of us, however, have felt a deep sense of betrayal from those within our own ranks. It’s hurtful to think there’s fellow queers who would rather placate the straight masses and endorse the police than stand with their brothers and sisters who have been routinely targeted by the police. It’s pinkwashing over history. Just because a cop is holding a pride flag one night of the year doesn’t mean they’re an ally.  

One such elected official who rallied for the board to reinstate the police was Alex Greenwich, who is the only openly gay male MP in the NSW Legislative Assembly. As a key figure in the same sex marriage equality movement, his standing up for police involvement is incredibly disappointing, to say the least.

Pride in Protest have since called for the sacking of the entire Mardi Gras board over their decision to allow police back into the parade. They’ve also planned a snap rally in Sydney tonight.

It seems like a lot of context is missing from the debates straight people have about police marching at Mardi Gras. It’s not just about Jesse and Luke. It’s also about the violent history of the police against queer and Blak folk. 

In 1978, the first Mardi Gras was held in solidarity with the brave queer and trans people involved in the US Stonewall Riots nine years prior. Those riots were in response to police brutality against queer people — and yet, the first Mardi Gras infamously featured police punching, kicking and dragging those at the protest. Fifty three people were arrested that night and several were reportedly bashed in the cells at Darlinghurst Police Station. 

The following day the Sydney Morning Herald published the names, addresses, and occupations of those arrested. Back then it was literally illegal to be gay in Australia, and so outing them in this way resulted in many people getting kicked out of their homes, and losing their jobs. Some took their own lives because of it. 

I’ve seen people and the media use this history to justify why we don’t want cops at pride. While it is incredibly relevant, that’s not the end of police aggression towards queer people. In fact, it feels like very little has changed. 

Just recently the final report of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes was handed out and it was a damning indictment of how the NSW police disregarded queer murders and mishandled cases. The report detailed “shameful homophobia, transphobia, and prejudice” within the NSW Police and made 19 recommendations regarding police conduct, none of which have been implemented yet. 

People might think that this is all historic and doesn’t reflect the police now. But the behaviours didn’t suddenly disappear, they became systemic. In the inquiry, Justice Sackar said the NSW Police had failed to conduct itself as a “model litigant” during the inquiry because they kept delaying the provision of materials. He said the force’s engagement with the inquiry was “unnecessarily defensive” (the force had said that the inquest “distracted police from police work”). Within the inquiry, there was a complaint made about trans witnesses from a NSW Police solicitor who said it was difficult to identify witnesses “especially when witnesses are transgender”.

In the past, the NSW Police Force admitted that officers made serious mistakes after re-examining potential gay-hate murders. In these instances, the police failed to perform even the most basic steps in investigating the crimes, including not getting the names of the deceased correct. It’s a pattern of disrespect and disregard for queer life from the police that’s existed for years. 

Last year, a far-right Christian group marched through Newtown, which is somewhat of a queer hub, chanting anti-queer sentiments and Bible verses. They were escorted peacefully through the street by the police despite it not being a planned or approved protest. Compare that to how police reacted to protesters at Victoria’s Midsumma pride march, where cops were filmed punching, choking and dragging people. Ring a bell? 

Then we had Karen Webb saying that the alleged murders of Jesse and Luke by a cop was a “crime of passion” which is not only incredibly insensitive to victims of domestic violence but also wildly inaccurate. This language suggests that Luke or Jesse did something to provoke their alleged murderer and not the result of an allegedly calculated plot to take their lives. Using that kind of language to soften the nature of Beau’s alleged crimes feels particularly uncomfortable given he already had a reputation for violent behaviour. In 2020, he tasered Indigenous man Kris Bradshaw in the face at close range and was cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation. Much like the many police officers who appear to brutalise Indigenous people. Tell me, how are we supposed to trust the police? 

From the gay panic defence (which was only just outlawed in Australia) to neglecting to investigate the disappearance of trans women (those of colour and sex workers are likely to be treated worse), Webb’s comments fit into the long-standing perception that queer people are to blame for the crimes committed against them. So of course we don’t want cops at pride when this is how they treat us? Marching with a float doesn’t mean shit when you don’t do anything to deserve that spot. 

To be honest, I’m sick of heterosexual people telling queer people how to feel and how to react to things. We’re constantly told that we’re too angry, too sensitive, and too loud. We’re tired of being political pawns and we’re tired of having our lives scrutinised. We’re tired of the police marching over us, when the parade that they’re hell-bent on infiltrating originated as a protest against the brutality inflicted by their institution.

Given all the history — and the present — between police and the queer and Indigenous communities, it shouldn’t be hard to understand our discomfort. And our fear. 

If you are a queer person and are in need of help and support, Q Life is available on 1800 184 527 any day from 3pm til midnight. You can also seek support from Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on Instagram or on X.

Image: National Film and Sound Australia