Mardi Gras members vote for inclusion

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has decisively rejected an attempt by radical activist group Pride in Protest to reshape the organisation’s leadership, in a vote its supporters say protects the place of Jewish participants in the parade.

The Extraordinary General Meeting, called by Pride in Protest and held last Saturday, drew the largest vote in Mardi Gras’ history. On every contested motion, members voted against Pride in Protest by margins of 70 to 73 per cent.

Two Pride in Protest directors, Luna Choo and Damien Nguyen, were removed from the board, while motions to remove co-chairs Mits Delisle and Kathy Pavlich were defeated by a ratio of three to one. The two board vacancies will be filled by appointment through the nominations committee.

The result followed a sustained campaign by the group Protect Mardi Gras, which has consistently fought to safeguard the participation of Dayenu, the group for Sydney’s Jewish LGBTQ+ community and their allies. Supporters distributed their votes to proxy holders in what organisers described as a mobilised centrist majority.

The tensions date to the period after October 7, 2023, when Pride in Protest publicly described Dayenu as “pro-genocide” – rhetoric that Dayenu said had turned its pride into fear and prompted it to briefly reconsider marching.