‘78ers to take on NMG

‘78ers to take on NMG

Meetings are scheduled with the police and the premier’s office, and thousands of feedback surveys have been completed, but not everyone’s happy as New Mardi Gras opens itself up for criticism at Sunday’s Extraordinary General Meeting.

NMG CEO Michael Rolik will today meet with the gamut of stakeholders involved in staging this year’s parade to discuss its planning and the last-minute change to the parade start area.

“The start area was a trial this year, so we need to first understand how it worked,” Rolik told Sydney Star Observer. “We’re aware of what our issues were — space was a big one for us.

“The planning and changes were very late in the piece. Considering the complexity of the issue I think we did a pretty good job.

VOTE: What did you think of the parade/party split? Vote in the poll on the front page of our website.

“Now we’re interested in hearing about others’ experiences were. There were reasons for doing this — to improve law and order. But it was also on the basis that we could deliver a parade that was effective for us, that didn’t compromise the running of the event and the experience. Some of those things worked well, some of those things didn’t work quite as well.”

But some plan to use Sunday’s EGM to raise issues about the handling of the 2010 season.

Acting as a spokesman for a group of ’78ers, Steve Warren intends to take issue with NMG’s corporate policies and lack of consultation over the 2010 theme ‘History of the World’.

“There was no consultation of inclusion of ’78ers as part of the planning of the 2010 Mardi Gras,” Warren told Sydney Star Observer. “This was a major factor in many ’78ers not getting involved in this year’s parade, along with the over-commercialisation of the parade, censorship of floats and pay only TV coverage.”

Rolik agreed the level of consultation with ’78ers was not at the level of the 2008 30th anniversary season.

“The focus of this year’s event was a much broader sweep of history, so we didn’t consult with them per se around the theme. They were involved and they were welcome as members, volunteers and participants,” he said.

Warren also expressed concern over community groups “being marginalised or excluded because of their politics”.

“The first few Mardi Gras were definitely about politics and united support across many groups,” he said.

Rolik said the subject of corporate involvement “would not be one we intend to tackle in any depth at the EGM,” but that a community consultation process would soon provide space for a debate around the purpose and funding of Mardi Gras.

The financial result of the season will also not be available on Sunday with Rolik stating that “full financial results will be released as usual at the AGM late in the year and in our annual report”.

info: The Extraordinary General Meeting is on Sunday, April 11 from 2pm at NIDA, 215 Anzac Pde, Kensington.

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37 responses to “‘78ers to take on NMG”

  1. Yes, I am a gay male and I always felt the advantage of being gay was that you don’t have to buy into bullshit like marriage. That’s what heterosexuals do and not very well when you look at divorce staistics. As John waters recently said, if marriage is so special then rather than ban gays why don’t they ban divorce for straights?

    I guess I should add that I’m 50 years old so for half my life sex between men was an illegal act. It’s a mystery to me how it came to be that marriage is put on a pedestal as some “right” to aspire to.

  2. Sorry, Gary, but don’t you love an argument?

    My old Nanna, may she rest in peace, was a vituperative old dear too. When she got too infirm to look after herself the doctors told us she’d had depression & senility for years. I cann’t imagine you being so unlucky. You, Gary, are just loving every minute of it.

    I thought your little patter about Mardi Gras was attention seeking, mean spirited and inaccurate.

    Occasionally I agree with you but mostly I don’t. Gary, you’ve been cultivated by conservative talkback radio for too long. It’s gone to your head. My nanna also liked those guys but never got the attention you have. Life just isn’t fair, is it? You’re just not the spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian silent majority as you’ve styled yourself. So surrender the throne!

  3. Baz,I would have thought that you as a gay man(and please excuse the assumption)would have gay marriage as a realistic expectation?
    I would also have thought that this is something NMG would be very interested in too and would be ‘fighting’ for.
    But then I guess,maybe this is why everyone is wondering what the whole point of it is?

  4. Pete actually has a good point.

    Last year, the Labor Party float was allowed to enter with people dressed as brides and grooms dancing around a giant wedding cake. This is the same Labor Party that sided with the Liberal and National Parties in 2004 to ban same-sex marriage.

    When a queer parade allows an obviously homophobic entry like that, things have gone horribly wrong.

  5. I was thinking of going to the EGM but I’m seriously having second thoughts. Being stuck in a room with winging and vitriolic old queens with an over inflated sense of entitlement is the last thing I’d want to do on a Sunday afternoon. And I very much doubt it will help make MardiGras any better.

  6. Can anyone tell me what Mardi-Gras stands for in 2010 ?
    Is it just about a good night out in 2010 ?
    Is it relevant anymore ?
    Ray cites this opinion as opportunistic stuff from me.
    I took the opportunity to stand up in 1978 (when I was 23) and risked arrest because I believed in something.
    This parade stemmed from this struggle.
    I don’t believe in Mardi-Gras in it’s current form-sorry Ray.
    Maybe it’s because I have been there done that.
    Maybe it’s because I find the parade dull and boring.
    Maybe it’s because I don’t take illicit drugs and want to be in bed by 9 PM most nights.
    Maybe it’s because it’s not a voice echoing “equality” for gays & lesbians.
    Gotta go now Ray cause it’s time for my nanny nap.
    Good night all,especially you Ray.

  7. Oh and Pete, marriage laws are the responsibility of the Federal Government. But thanks for showing us one of NMG’s enduring problems: thoughtless, unrealistic expectations.

  8. Alex, stop splitting hairs, in Australia the financial year ends 30 June irrespective of what parameters an individual organisation may set for itself. Since the MG season ends the first week in March what sort of figures do you think would be available within 3 weeks? Ticket sales should be available because that’s monitored throughout the season and bums-on-seats is what will determine whether the two week season and parade/party split was successful (or sustainable in future years). If you’re predisposed to criticise what NMG are doing what difference is the financial data going to make?

  9. The fact that Australia does not have gay marriage YET,in itself speaks volumes about the failure of Mardi Gras.

  10. Proper parade floats and no more trucks?
    Love that idea!
    More creative content? Yes! Yes! Yes!
    Sexy, humourous, flamboyant entries galore…well we’d all like that. Please work on it New Mardi Gras.

    Now for Gary Burns with:
    “Mardi-Gras rest in peace.
    You were a grand old lady once.
    You seem to stand for very little these days.”

    I don’t think we’re on the same side on this. The community is still behind its Mardi Gras and this sound like the moreof the usual opportunist stuff from you Mr Burns.

  11. All this bitching! Over what? It’s ancient history now! As for the 78’r…. You never spent 5 minutes of your life for second best obviously, it’s just that people don’t want to hear any better out of you!But it will be the 78’rs still getting off, if another generation doesn’t really want to get it on – they will just have to miss out in future.

  12. Baz according to last year’s annual report on the NMG website, NMG runs a financial year from 1st April to 31st March.

    Evidently they would definitely have financial data available, even if unaudited.

    Like any company, they would create a budget with forecast result. They could at least disclose whether they have run the company close to budget and achieved a result close to forecast.

    Or alternatively they could keep it a secret.

  13. New Mardi Gras has allowed a vacuum to develop in which its future is now being discussed more in frustration than some sense of constructive participation in a democratic process.

    Sponsorship -v- Community aspirations? I don’t think they are necessarily opposed. The issue has to be appropriately managed. There has been a tendency by some to blame New Mardi Gras decisions on sponsorship when more appropriately criticism should be laid at the feet of management. To my thinking there have been very few clashes between sponsorship and community aspirations however it has become popular to blame sponsors for problems caused by poor management decisions. For example a major attack on sponsorship was launched when New Mardi Gras excluded animal liberationists from the parade this year but that was a management decision unconnected to sponsorship (and I think a misstep).

    When Jason says “I agree with others that the Mardi Gras Parade has lost its cause….” I don’t find myself agreeing. However I think it needs to be done better than it has been in recent years. New Mardi Gras should be listening to longstanding criticism that the Parade has lost a creative focus it once had which kept it fresh and original, standing out from the other Pride type celebrations and even from the far larger Mardi Gras held elsewhere in the world. The themes of humour, politics, flamboyance, celebration of GLBTQ sexuality and culture, creativity, performance and music are fertile ground and more popular with audiences and participants than the two more prosaic “themes” of recent Mardi Gras : Geography and History.
    The best Mardi Gras Parade put on by New Mardi Gras was the 2008 in which Graham Gooden (AKA Mitzi MacIntosh) played a role directing. The Parade is still the most important of the events New Mardi Gras puts on, the lighthouse event that powers the credibility of the rest of the festival, especially the Party. It needs to be directed by someone from an artistic/performance background with an understanding for the uniqueness of the event as a hybrid: a Mardi Gras that is a GLBTQ Pride celebration.

    Mardi Gras is more than a “protest march” as its name will tell you. That’s why it grew into the largest Gay and Lesbian celebration in the world. It’s not because Sydney has the largest or most vibrant GLBTQ community. To strengthen Mardi Gras the organisers need to go back to what made it so popular in the first place.

    It’s also the event NMG puts on that has the most potential to attract visitors to Sydney because the other parts of the season are available in other major western cities around the world: Gay & lesbian cultural festivals and huge dance parties. Even Melbourne offers competition there. Most big western cities, including Australian capitals, also have their Pride Parades but these are very different to Sydney’s Mardi Gras (especially when done well).

    Oh, and as for the split? The most important reason given so far in favour of a split (that people are too tired to attend the party after the parade) has been debunked by events. Firstly the community outcry leading to the addition of a much smaller party at the showground on Parade night and then by the poor sales for the split off Party this year, down by 20% on last year despite superior promotion and a stellar line up of performers and DJs. I think the split is an unsustainable model for the organisation going forward especially because many felt disappointed by the party, a sign that the right buzz wasn’t there without it being on after the parade. Furthermore, many attended out of loyalty, understanding it was likely to be a one off brought on by an admin error.

    Sydney tourism making more money? If this is the case then why cann’t Events NSW put a figure to it. The information they have released for the 2010 MG season covers both the arrival of Atlantis cruises and the split for a combined figure of $3mill to $5mill more, which sounds like at best a marginal improvement in profits but only if you can take such vague and wobbly figures seriously.
    How can they even be considering continuing the split into next year when they haven’t put forward any further reasons to do so? Surely to carry forward the necessary community support if they choose to continue the split they will need to win the public debate? Proponents of a split aren’t even participating in the public debate. Who are they? What are the other arguments in favour that are being bandied about and why haven’t we heard more about them in the wider GLBTQ community?

  14. Baz, I agree that having a meeting now is good while the season is still fresh on our minds and that the end of financial year is June 30. But it would be a very poorly run organisation that completed its major fund raising/expenditure season and is now making plans for the future without having an idea of the interim finances. The intention of the EGM is to discuss with members the 2010 season and to discuss intellectual property. You can’t discuss either of those things in a meaningful and informed way in isolation from the finances. And the board know that. The meeting was called by the chairs of NMG, so I assume they have made some kind of preparation for the meeting. Given that they don’t plan to provide financial detail, don’t plan to provide any explanatory papers regarding the proposed intellectual property motion and don’t plan to consider future corporate involvement in MG, I’m left wondering exactly what they do plan to discuss on Sunday. I’m looking forward to their explanations on Sunday. And I very much hope that the board comes prepared with answers and they don’t stand up in front of the members with a doe-eyed quizzical expression saying that they ‘don’t have that information with them and will have to take that question on board and get back to us with answers’.

    Also remember that this meeting was set down to happen a few weeks ago..coincidentally it was shifted when it was noted on this site that members were not given proper notice…. so the board have had a few more weeks to prepare documents and information for members

    I look forward to the meeting on Sunday and suggest members attend

  15. At the very least, having a meeting now means the season is fresh in our minds. Given the financial year ends on 30 June of course there won’t be reports available. Who said that was the intention of this EGM anyway? As always with MG it’s damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

  16. A smaller but more militant Mardi Gras would be better. The current Mardi Gras is a waste of time. I dont go any more. And for God’s sake, keep those homophobic, drug-sniffer dogging cops out of the march till they learn to behave.

  17. 4 week festival please. 2 weeks is not long enough and gets so crammed with events we can’t go to all the ones we want to. that doesn’t make financial sense to split your attendance in half because people have to choose one or the other on the same night!

  18. I agree with everthing Jason said he put it perfectly ..and to get the mardi gras parade back on free to air television

  19. Move with the times.
    What ageist offensive crap.
    So 78ers, you are old fossils and you should all just go and live in nursing homes where we can all ignore you and be complicit in pretending you don’t exist.
    As a 78er I find that statement almost as offensive as Mardi Gras particularly patronising statement. I am so glad I did not attend and I may never again.
    Bashed almost to death in 1978? Hey move on, who gives a shit about you now. Disgraceful. All power to the activists, all power to the old people who have suffered that we might be so ageist.

  20. Its an EGM – who called it the Board, the organisation or a collection of Members ??

  21. The Board of NMG is simply waisting our time if the plan a meeting without providing the relevant facts, for example, concerning the parade: how were police resources used this year, compared to last? what were the arrest rates? etc. how many toilets wer provided in start area, compared to last year? Concerning the changed date for the party: what bookings have been made for 2011? how many tickets were sold last year and this year? what was the financial result? The culture of arrogance and total disrespect for those of us who actually own the organisation seems determined to continue at NMG …

  22. The agenda for the EGM is fairly general…

    1. Season 2010

    2. Board recommendation on IP Trust

    In relation to item 2, the Board will move the following motion: That the issue of transferring the intellectual property rights of New Mardi Gras Limited to another entity be resolved by keeping the intellectual property rights within the ownership of New Mardi Gras Limited and that this matter be closed. There are no supporting papers to circulate with respect to this motion.

    As other people have noted, it’s impossible to have a sensible discussion on the parade / party split without knowing the financial result. The Board must have been working from a budget which projected an end of season result. Surely that can be provided as an indicative result on the proviso that the audited figure may be different?

  23. For a Country Like Brazil & Many others that are not countries as wealty as ours who have Parades
    The Way they do it is more full on & extravagant.
    They Dont use 8 Tonne Trucks. Its pathetic that after 32 Years The Mardi Gras Commitee cannot even progress further with applying for Special Permits from the RTA to use & construct ACTUAL Floats (Floats are not 8 Tonne Trucks) they are a small Stage Built with Wheels and somekind of small Vehicle underneath (refer to NY Maceys Christmas Parade, Brazil Carnevale) they dont use Trucks. Trucks Look Hideous. The Idea of Using these Ugly looking Vehicles looks Bad in my Opinion. I briefly watched a video of MOOMBA in Melbourne – they used a real Floats if Im corect( I saw one with Molly Meldrum & Kate Ceberano on it) . It did not look like a 8 Tonne Truck.
    I watched the Mardi Gras 2010 Parade on YouTube .
    All you see is about 5-8 Big Trucks Dressed up
    ( looks like a 5 minute Job) and then all you see is Guys & girls in Hot Pants, Swimmers with Banners. No real Creativity or any kind of Imagination. Nothing Cutting Edge or Innovative.
    Its Mediocre & looks Trashy. There is nothing Spectacular about it. The Mardi Gras Parade hit its peak (visualy) in the Mid 90s. Also I have heard nothing but bad & negative feedback from people who have participated in the parade over the years & all Ive heard is how badly Mardi Gras organisation/commitee treats the people who invest “their time” to participate in the parade & to the participants expense. Basicaly Ive heard constantly how people who participate in the Parade are stuffed around.

    This year has to be the worse Mardi Gras Parade Ever.
    The Party ( Visuals – Stage production for Adam Lambert, George Michael ) looked like used Sets fron 15 years ago. The style of Lighting looked Dated.
    HOMESEXUAL production at Home on Mardi Gras Party weekend was soooo much Better – more cutting Edge.
    I think its time someone put their head together with many others & create an Alternative type of Mardi Gras incorporating both Gay & Straight like they do in other parts of the world.
    Mardi Gras (the concept) has become stale, mediocre & mainstream. It does not have the WOW factor it did up until the mid 90s. In my opnion its the people who run Mardi Gras that have no clue about anything to do with creativity. It just looks like a sloppy job put together at the last minute even though they insist its hours & hours, months of hard work,,,like really.
    Dear Mardi Gras : go travel a bit. Go to a few Parades around the world & see how its really done. This shit with Trucks, Dikes on Bikes, Marching Boys in Swimmers has been soooooo over done Everyone knows its a Joke
    (eyes rolling) . Sydney is full of highly creative people. You put them off with your Ridiculous behaviour. This is how people do not get involved anymore like they use to – due to your behaviour. You are never going to get it right if you dont listen to the people who support you.

    Without listening & taking notice of the Public you will once again Fall & crumble like you did in August 2002.

  24. I agree with others that the mardi gras parade seems to have lost it’s cause. Although I did not attend the parade this year, it was primarily because of the very poor security at last years event, and that the parade simply went on for too long. There needs to be a very gutsy security presence, and IMHO the parade should have a very deliberate focus each year. As others have commented to me, it’s a protest march, not a las vegas show, and restricting it to payTV doesn’t help get our across the country.

  25. you may as well call off the meeting. there is no point discussing the pros and cons of the split and all the other guff with out the $$$ info to back it up – all this will be is another committee vent slag fest with wingers winging and good people avoiding topics because the yreally cant talk about things with valid proof.

    please dont do a disservice to mardi gras by putting on a farcical meeting. GET THE FINANCIALS in order, and then sort it out! It needs to be quick though, otherwise you will stuff up another year for internationals and interstate visitors! And you can plainly see they had a massive impact on the events.

  26. How can the Board and CEO of NMG reasonably expect members to engage in discussion about the 2010 without the benefit of financial data?

    Are these guardians of Mardi Gras saying that they are such poor managers that they don’t know the financial result, or do they know the financial result but choose to keep it secret?

    Either way, this it’s unacceptable.

    This secrecy, poor management, alienation of community groups, rash last minute decisions, commercialisation and general arrogance of NMG honchos reeks of the lead up to the 2002 collapse.

  27. It seems that there is no making anyone happy – for NMG to survive it has to have corporate sponsors.

    I appreciate the effort and fight that they 78’ers went though for me to be able to walk down the street holding my partners hand and while they are some of the custodians of our history – times have changes and we need to move with the times.

    NMG is a company with financial responsibility and reporting requirements. NMG has bills to pay and has to survive… the organistion can be run as either a political organsiation or a strong corporate business … the reality is that without sponsors NMG will not be around in 5 years… then the 78’ers will then have nothing to complain about as the organisation will not exist – stop complaining and get involved into the NMG and support what the people who give up their time and effort to keep the organisation running … 78’ers while we appreciate you – stop with the anger and hostility. i wonder if the EGM has been called cause a number of the 78’ers know how to play the Consitutional game – hoping to gain their own advantqe

  28. How far we have sunk? The sad part is that these people running the show take us for fools, like we as a community have no say in the matter. We all get that the biggest sponsor calls the shots. I don’t think you have to explain events to any gay person. We can see a flop when we see one. For that matter most of us know or work in an allied field and we get that there are compensations for sponsors in a commercial ventures. However, I cant help but think that our community venture is being forced to comply with what strait people think is okay for gay people. It seems that the help comes with the control and PR wheel of Team NSW that screams CONFORM or die. Sponsors have realised what a cash cow the gay market is to them, so let them support our version of what gay represents, not what they think it should be. We are all creative enough to find a balance here. If Virgin want in, they do so on our terms, A double decker bus with your name on it does not represent support. If the police want to to participate, fine, but do so without your shirts on. Same goes for the firemen and the other endless government agencies forced to participate. Walking in uniform is not what we represent. “We are all the same gay or strait.” Er I don’t think so. It’s our diversity that defines us. Since everyone including Ricky Martin is now giving us their version of Gay I decided Im no longer GAY. I’m changing to being and living FANTASTIC. I’m now a FANTASTIC. And I’m starting my own parade.

  29. What a load of Orwellian newspeak.

    Mardi Gras sinks further into the mire.

    How sad for those of us who started it.