SYDNEY, Australia
A survey was sent to all NMG members after sleazeball,it comes as no surprise. Both on the night and in the days that
followed the party a major focus of the feedback we received was about
the policing of the event, the presence of sniffer dogs on the dance
floors and what many of you felt were quite arbitrary searches of our
patrons.
Over and over you told us that you felt the police presence was an
“invasion of privacy”, “intimidating”, “intrusive” and “over the top”.
Your comments make clear that many of you are angry, not only as
attendees of our parties, but also as Australian citizens who feel
their rights are being eroded and as taxpayers who feel they are
witnessing a misallocation of police resources.
You raised particular concerns about the Police conducting searches in
very public areas, conducting searches without a reasonable level of
suspicion and violating the privacy of the medical area. Such behaviour
does not accord with the protocols agreed between New Mardi Gras and
Police NSW.
More broadly it is clear that the Police’s increased presence both
outside and inside the party is having a major impact on our audience’s
enjoyment of this and other events. We make every effort at our parties
to create a fantasy world, a place for people to relax and have fun. To
have sombre-faced officers in reflective clothing roaming around the
dance floor with sniffer dogs clearly makes our task much more
difficult.
This is a major issue for New Mardi Gras. Sleaze Ball – like Mardi Gras
Party and the Mardi Gras harbour party – are fundraising events for the
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Any impact on ticket sales to
these events has a very direct impact on our ability to sustain the
Parade, the Mardi Gras Season and organisation as a whole.
Over-zealous policing has the potential to undermine one of the key
events in the NSW calendar and one that brings in an estimated $30
million new dollars into the state through overseas and interstate
visitation each and every year.
Because of this we intend to initiate a number of initiatives to seek
more proportionate policing in the future, whilst reaffirming our zero
tolerance to intoxication, substance use or other illegal activities.
We will be raising our concerns in a number of quarters, with our
senior police contacts, with the Office of the Lord Mayor, with Events
NSW and the Premiers Department representatives we liaise with as a NSW
Hallmark event. We will also ask our members and patrons to share their
views and experiences with those bodies and their members of parliament.
We have already commenced discussions with community health, legal and
rights bodies and we will work with them closely to form a united
community front on this issue and instigate additional programs to
assure the highest levels of safety and protection for our community at
our events.
We will establish a program to ensure our rights are well understood
and respected, and we will endeavour to provide volunteers with legal
expertise at our events to ensure that members and guests are fully
aware of their rights if confronted with intimidating or over-zealous
handling by police.
We will also raise the bigger question about the cost and benefit of
operations like this. Was the commitment of taxpayer dollars to
enforcement at Sleaze Ball worth the 18 minor personal possession
offences reportedly recorded?
The Police themselves came out last week to say that Sleaze Ball “was
probably the highlight of the night, where behaviour was concerned.” We
will be asking the Police to match this behaviour with less intrusive
police operations based on the presumption of innocence of our patrons
and a respect for our rights and for published protocols.
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