In this September edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have:
- The results of the First Mardi Gras Inc. AGM on 19 September
- A link to our Annual Report 2020
- William Brougham’s interviews to mark the 50th anniversary of the CAMP Inc. announcement
- Gabrielle Antolovich on What the Passing of RBG means to the US LGBTIQ Community
- My report on the Mardi Gras Consultation on their Constitution
- Barry Charles on the Mardi Gras Member Consultation
- Karl Zlotkowski with Part 2 of Poland – the View from Here
- Robyn Kennedy’s update on Oceania InterPride
- Details of the Protect Trans Kids, Kill Latham's Bills Rally, Saturday, 10 October 2020, 1pm at Taylor Square.
Diane Minnis
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First Mardi Gras Inc. members participating in the AGM by Zoom
We had a great roll up to the First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual General Meeting, held by Zoom on Saturday 19 September. This was the first meeting of members we have held in 2020, though the Committee has been meeting regularly by Zoom. It was particularly good to see so many members based outside of Sydney taking part in the meeting.
The following Management Committee members were elected at the AGM:
- Co-Chairs: Diane Minnis and Ken Davis
- Secretary: Barry Charles
- Treasurer: Richard Thode
- Committee Members: Karl Zlotkowski, Maree Marsh, Robyn Kennedy and Rebbell Barnes.
After three years of valuable contributions, Betty Hounslow has stepped down as Co-Chair and from the Committee, due to her responsibilities on other community sector organisation boards. Betty was a great source of advice and support during her time on the Committee and provided generous hospitality when hosting Committee meetings at her home.
Robert French also stood down from the Committee to concentrate on his 50 Years of Visibility work. Many thanks to Robert for all his contributions to the Committee and we look forward to seeking advice from and working with Betty and Robert in future.
Ken Davis and Diane Minnis
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chairs
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The First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual Report is out and the Co-Chairs note how glad we are that the SGLMG Festival and Parade were held before COVID hit.
Our well attended Salon78 forum: A Lavender Menace? Australia’s Early Lesbian Movement was also able to go ahead. 78ers attended seven regional Prides this year as well as Melbourne’s Midsumma and London Pride.
We continued our broader political activism – rallying against the Religious Exemptions Bill and issuing a Joint Statement with First Nations Rainbow deploring Police violence at Black Lives Matter protests.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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CAMP Inc. members Ian Black, Robyn Plaister, Peter de Waal and Robyn Kennedy (L-R above) were reunited in Sydney on 10 September 2020. This was the 50th anniversary of an article appearing in The Australian newspaper which reported on the formation of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP Inc.). John Ware, one of the groups founders, was interviewed for the article.
Both Ian and Peter were foundation members of CAMP Inc. and Robyn P and Robyn K served on the Executive. CAMP Inc. played a leading role in the early gay and lesbian rights movement in Australia. In my video, Peter discusses the article in The Australian and Ian and the two Robyns share some of their memories of CAMP.
William Brougham
First Mardi Gras Inc. Associate Member
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Remembrance Vigil for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the #BillyDeFrank Center, San Jose, California, USA – with Silicon Valley Pride
On Friday 18 September in San Jose, we were at the first outdoor opening for the gay bars downtown when we heard that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. Young and old queer people were devastated – it is a political disaster! Some drank more, others ordered extra food, and many cried.
We knew then we had to organize a Remembrance Vigil for her for the Queer Community and allies. So off I went to the office and started organizing the event with Silicon Valley Pride to have it in the Gayborhood, in the parking lot of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center. We showed slides of RBG, gave speeches and cried, and socially distanced with masks on. Everyone was so glad we had our own Queer Vigil for RBG.
My main reflection was that being a first generation immigrant of the 1950's my parents (like most immigrant parents) wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. I remember telling my parents that women don't easily become those. We didn't yet have the language that Australia (and America) were sexist/homophobic countries, more so back then, than they are now.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in Europe in the early sixties and saw how more women were in all kinds of professions and respected more than back in America – and how it inspired her to fight against discrimination against women and LGBTQ+'s.
I now understand that my immigrant parents brought their European values to Australia and believed I could be a doctor or lawyer like I could have in Europe. It deepened my understanding why I had these clashes with my parents about career choices, and it helped me truly understand the impact RBG has had on American culture. We cannot let anyone get in the way of her progress. We deserve all that she has achieved. As a result more people are registering to vote and supporting progressive candidates.
Gabrielle Antolovich
78er and Board President, Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Center, San Jose, California, USA
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San Francisco demonstrations that followed the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, including in the Castro LGBTIQ area
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Mardi Gras Consultation on their Constitution
In late August and early September 2020, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras held a series of consultations with its members on proposed constitutional changes. One of the sessions was specifically for 78er Lifetime members.
A Constitution Review Consultation Feedback Report has now been issued, removing some of the proposed amendments but proposing that other amendments be taken to a General Meeting.
A positive proposed change is having electronic voting close at the same time as in-person voting at the AGM, so members can view the meeting and vote online.
Yet some worrying proposed amendments include:
- New members having to wait for 6 months before being granted voting rights
- The number of Board members being increased to 10 (currently 8) with the 2 extra members appointed by the Board through an EOI process.
- The Board appointment of a Treasurer if these skills are deemed not to exist in elected members, bringing the proposed number of non-elected members to 3.
Several of us at the 78ers consultation suggested having a 3 month waiting period before new members can vote. This is a common provision in the rules of unions and political parties like the ALP.
However, appointing extra board members rather than electing them really isn’t democratic. This would allow board members who are not re-elected to be appointed, supposedly based on ‘merit and skills’.
We also raised the point that if the intent is to encourage a skills-based Board, then the current provision in the Constitution limiting candidate statements to 200 words is counter-productive. Limiting candidate information to one third of a page prevents candidates from fully presenting their credentials and constrains the ability of members to assess candidates. This suggestion was, however, not included in the Feedback Report.
One change that we can get behind is including in the constitution the process though which 78er Lifetime members are appointed. That is, candidates for Life Membership need to be nominated by the Board and passed by a special resolution (75% of votes) at a general meeting of members.
On 18 September, details of these and other proposed constitutional changes were sent to members who attended consultations. A survey was also sent to allow further input on contentious changes. The final proposed constitutional changes are not yet clear, but they will be circulated to members prior to the planned Extraordinary General Meeting in October 2020.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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78ers at the 2020 Mardi Gras Parade. Photo Meagan Lawson
Mardi Gras Member Consultation
Albert Kruger, the CEO of SGLMG, has held a number of online member consultations to discuss SGLMG’s response to issues raised in its Survey, conducted following the 2020 Festival.
At the first of these meetings on Wednesday 23 September, First Mardi Gras Inc. was well represented among the 30 or so participants by Co-Chairs Diane Minnis and Ken Davis; Secretary Barry Charles and member Sallie Colechin.
The CEO presented the results of the Survey, of which 40,000 were sent out to members of Mardi Gras and to the wider public. Unfortunately, only 2,119 were completed, and it was not clear what percentage of those were from members or from the general public.
The major take-outs appeared to be that Mardi Gras should have more of a year-round presence (60%) and should engage and support other Queer community groups in their activities and campaigns.
There was a notable number (29%) of responders who cited lack of access to events and information. Particularly those outside the Sydney region.
Many said they only found out about the existence of support and activist organisations of interest or benefit to them, during Mardi Gras itself and then only in passing.
Discussion groups were formed within the forum to quickly suggest what actions SGLMG could take to support the rest of the community. Suggestions included funding, publicising, statements of support etc.. Issues covered a wide area including Black Lives Matter, youth mental health, unemployment and aged support.
Back in the full session, questions were raised about the plans for 2021. Albert said that discussions with the State Government were on-going around exemptions from COVID restrictions that could be applied to both Fair Day and Parade.
In response to a question from Diane Minnis about what Parade format SGLMG had proposed to the government, we did not get much information.
One area was clear though, this year’s Launch is not going to be an in-person public event but will be an online occasion.
Barry Charles
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Secretary
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Last month we reported on recent events in Poland, including protests and arrests surrounding the re-election of the President (on an anti-gay platform) and the declaration of so called ‘LGBTI-Free Zones’ in some Polish communities. Much of this was drawn from reports published by Belgian activist Remy Bonny.
Our friend William Brougham has also published a two part audio interview with Remy, which can be found here:
Since then two more reports have highlighted the polarisation in Polish society.
On 16 September the President of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, declared that “LGBTI-Free Zones have no place in the European Union”. Click here for an extract from her speech.
Membership of the EU is vital to the preservation of secular liberties in Poland. After 1989, Poland devoted its efforts to join the EU with an urgency drawing on a national tradition that Poland is a Western nation (as opposed to Russia, which is not). The EU offers opportunity and escape from the old demons of the past, which is why educated younger Poles from the cities support it and traditionalist Poles from the regions distrust it and turn to religion, and nationalism.
In late August a conference of Polish Bishops called for ‘clinics’ to be set up to assist LGBTI people to “regain their natural sexual orientation”. Although tempered by opposition to violence or aggression, the statement shows clearly that the traditional church continues to insist on its right to define individual sexual freedoms and if necessary resort to coercion. A Church sponsored view is reported here.
78ers remember clearly the corrosive influence exerted by the traditional Church during the pandemic struggles of the 1980s, under the leadership of a Polish Pope (elected, as it happens, in 1978). At that time the Polish Bishops were also engaged in their own national struggle against Russian influence, a struggle they have led since the 18th century. Traditionalist Poles see their Church as custodian of the nation’s identity, a role their Bishops are not afraid to protect, and manipulate.
The intersection of this nationalist view and current anti-secular, anti-LGBTI rhetoric becomes clear in a 2019 statement by the archbishop of Kraków, comparing the LGBTI movement to Soviet Communism. “Our land is no longer affected by the red plague, which does not mean that there is no new one that wants to control our souls, hearts and minds … not Marxist, Bolshevik, but born of the same spirit, neo-Marxist. Not red, but rainbow.”
In Poland the struggle over LGBTI rights is not just a matter of faith, morality or ‘family values’. It is a struggle for the soul of the nation. And that struggle continues…
Karl Zlotkowski
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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Russell Weston and Robyn Kennedy
In September, InterPride members in the Oceania region elected two representatives to the InterPride Global Advisory Council – First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee member Robyn Kennedy and Russell Weston, Co-Chair of First Nations Rainbow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation.
InterPride membership from Prides in the region has expanded to include most states of Australia as well as members from New Zealand, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Participation in monthly meetings of Pride organisations in the region also continues to grow with regular attendance by a wide range of organisations and locations.
Robyn Kennedy
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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Community Action for Rainbow Rights is making an urgent call to protest Mark Latham's bill which will ban all mention of trans and gender diverse people in NSW schools.
Meet at Taylor Square on Saturday, 10 October 2020 at 1pm and march to Hyde Park North. Wear a mask and keep a social distance. Further information is available on Facebook. |
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