This year’s Mardi Gras parade marked several historical firsts for the Gay pride celebration, which began in Australia 45 years ago.
The parade marked the biggest event of the Sydney WorldPride and Mardi Gras Festival, marking the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride Week in Australia, and the 5th anniversary of the marriage equality vote.
More than 12,500 people marched on Saturday night on top 200 floats, marching for self-expression and equality under this year’s theme Gather, Dream, Amplify.
Here, we look at the highlights from the 45th Mardi Gras parade in Sydney.
First PM to march
Anthony Albanese became the first sitting prime minister to march in Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday night when he led the Rainbow Labor float alongside Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns.
It was a significant achievement, one which Albanese described as “unfortunate” to ABC reporter Jeremy Fernandez. “It’s unfortunate that I am the first but this is a celebration of modern Australia,” he said.
“We’re a diverse, inclusive Australia and that’s a good thing. People want to see that their government is inclusive and represents everyone, no matter who they love, no matter what their identity, no matter where they live. We need to be a country that respects everyone for who they are.”
“We need to pay tribute tonight and think about the 78ers,” he added, referring to the original activists who marched in the first Mardi Gras in Sydney in 1978. “… who were thrown in jail for the simple fact of who they were, because they happened to be gay or lesbian.”
“It is five years since marriage equality. That was a demand that wasn’t there 45 years ago. We need to continue to argue for equality.”
Albanese had also marched back in 1983 when he was a student at Sydney University, and estimates this year to be the 35th time he has marched.
First time medical colleges unite to march
The inaugural Pride in Medicine advocacy group marched for the first time over the weekend — bringing together members from several medical colleges including Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM).
More than 60 doctors, fellows and medical students donned in sequinned scrubs joined the festivities on the Pride in Medicine float, representing the group’s LGBTQIA+ doctors, medical students and allies.
“We are proud to support this float by the Pride in Medicine group, who do so much to provide a supportive community for medical practitioners,” RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said.
“LGBTQIA+ people still experience prejudice, and still experience worse health outcomes. There’s no excuse for that in 2023. Doctors take an oath against discrimination in healthcare and for support of their peers. We have a duty to end that health inequality and ensure all staff are welcomed in our workplaces.”
“We’re on a journey of change at the RACGP and have been working hard to build an inclusive culture, and supporting our LGBTQIA+ members, staff and the communities in which they operate is an important part of that.”
Pride in Medicine vice-president and treasurer Associate Professor James Lee believes no one should hide or suppress their identity.
“Many doctors and medical students still feel unable to be true to their LGBTQIA+ identity in the healthcare setting, and so do many of our patients,” Lee, who is a endocrine surgeon in Melbourne, said.
“For LGBTQIA+ patients, this can lead to poorer health outcomes and experiences. We want to help close this gap, so all doctors and medical students can bring their authentic selves to work and all patients can seek timely care without fear of discrimination or judgement.”
“Pride in Medicine supports current and future doctors to create that world by providing a community that can hear and understand their challenges, guide them and advocate for them and their patients.”
Associate Professor Ruth McNair, a GP academic and Chairperson of the Pride Foundation Australia noted the ways LGBTQIA+ community face substantial health inequalities.
“Mental health is a major area – there is a particularly high suicide risk, which is worse for subgroups such as trans and non-binary people, those with disabilities, and young people,” she said.
“They also face higher cancer risk factors and possibly higher prevalence of some cancers, more harmful substance use and a greater burden of STIs among subgroups such as men who have sex with men and transgender people. People with intersex variations are still experiencing unwanted surgeries, infertility and discrimination.”
“The major contributors to these differences are a wide range of experiences of trauma, including family rejection, school bullying, workplace discrimination, family violence, abuse within society, marginalisation.”
Professor McNair believes that many people are still afraid of discrimination in health care settings, which prevents people from seeking help and leads to later presentation of illness.
“This is all totally preventable by simply educating ourselves as doctors and other health professionals,” she added.
“Things are improving slowly, but our LGBTQIA+ patients are rightly impatient for improvement and a fully inclusive healthcare system.”
Federal senator Lidia Thorpe protests police violence at parade
Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe staged a solo protest against police brutality on Saturday night when she walked behind the NSW Police float shouting “f*** the police”, before lying on her back on the concrete road.
Two police officers approached Senator Thorpe as the parade was momentarily interrupted.
She rose to her feet and spoke with the Mardi Gras crew and NSW Police, who later said the Independent senator was removed by parade organisers for “breaching the terms of her participation”.
Senator Thorpe was escorted away by police officers, though not arrested. Before her protest, she’d marched with the No Pride in Genocide float.
“While we respect the individual’s right to protest, interrupting the parade in this way has significant implications for the safety of our participants and audience,” a spokesperson from NSW police said.
The following morning, Senator Thorpe took to social media to explain her protest.
“Black and brown trans women started the first pride march as a protest against police violence,” she wrote.
“Today, we still face violence from police. Proud to have joined the #PrideInProtest float in Sydney to say #NoPrideInGenocide, #NoPrideInPrisons, and #NoCopsInPride.”
This morning, NSW police confirmed it will not charge Senator Thorpe for her actions on Saturday night.
Pride in Protest’s spokesperson Mikhael Burnard told The Guardian “the oppression of queer people and the oppression of Indigenous people and refugees are one and the same fight”.
“The global queer community needs to actively defend queer and trans people, needs to challenge such rhetoric in political and social spaces and it needs to fight back against this transphobic and fascist creep,” he explained in another recent interview.