After becoming the first sitting Prime Minister to participate in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras this year, Malcolm Turnbull has been banned from formally taking part in Australia’s largest pride festival in 2017.
Turnbull was knocked off the invitation list to next year’s festivities thanks to a motion passed at today’s Mardi Gras annual general meeting, which stated his support for the same-sex marriage plebiscite renders him an unsuitable ambassador.
As such, Mardi Gras “does not believe that a Prime Minister who denies us equality should be welcome as an official guest at our parade.”
Cat Rose, who proposed the motion, said “he was happy to come and get his media opportunity and spruik his supposedly pro-gay values but what has he given us since?
He has been nothing but a conduit for homophobes wanting to derail marriage equality through a vindictive plebiscite.”
Patrick Wright, who seconded the motion, said “the first Mardi Gras in 1978 was a protest against the criminalisation of homosexuality, Turnbull should hear this protest in 2017 as a protest against him.”
FWIW, there’s nothing stopping Turnbull from attending the fest in the same way he did last year, and considering it courses right through his electorate of Wentworth, there’s still a chance he’ll make an appearance.
Last year, Labor’s Bill Shorten also became the first sitting leader of a Federal party to participate in the parade. Considering his party’s successful post-election opposition to the plebiscite, it’s lookin’ unlikely he’ll be booted off the invite list too.
