Mardi Gras Has Moved To Censure 2 Board Directors — What Does That Mean & What’s Next?

The Co-Chairs of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have moved to censure two directors, only days after they accused the organisation of transphobia.

On Sunday 25 January, Co-Chairs Mits Delisle and Kathy Pavlich moved two motions to censure board directors Luna Choo and Damien Nguyen, both from Pride In Protest.

The motions allege that Choo and Nguyen were “engaging in external correspondence in a manner that created a reasonable perception of representing the organisation and/or Board positions without authorisation”, and their failure to declare relevant conflicts of interest.

The move comes after the SGLMG Board decided against implementing a motion passed at the AGM that called for floats to make a statement in support of trans rights, with Choo and Nguyen last week calling for an urgent Extraordinary General Meeting to address what they called “a deliberate choice to abandon the trans community politically”.

Motions passed at the AGM are non-binding and and don’t require the Board to act on them, but are intended to express the collective views of the membership.

“This decision reflects the Board’s obligations under ACNC governance standards and the need to ensure all decisions align with Mardi Gras’ values, strategic priorities, and long-term sustainability,” Pavlich and Delisle said at the time.

The motion moved against Choo on Sunday also misgendered her, which Choo said was “incredibly demeaning”.

“Having been on the board for less than 2 months, I have been called a man, locked out of my emails, chastised for communicating to members on the issue of transgender rights, and now threats of being censured,” she said.

“Despite the co-chairs’ degrading treatment, I will never give up my commitment to members’ decision on trans justice and equality. I have submitted two board papers to the next board meeting calling for Mardi Gras to take action on trans rights as decided on at the AGM. There is no LGB without the T.”

In a statement to Star Observer, Delisle said the actions of the Board had been mischaracterised.

“The Board’s decision to move to censure two directors is related to the use of official Mardi Gras Board email accounts to campaign against Board decisions and repeated failure to follow basic Board directions,” he said.

“These email accounts exist solely to support directors in carrying out their governance responsibilities. Using them for campaigning or advocacy against the organisation crossed a clear governance boundary.

“This action was not taken because of anyone’s views, identity, or advocacy for trans communities. Trans and gender-diverse people are central to Mardi Gras, and that has not changed.”

Delisle also denied that the Board’s decision not to pass the resolution from the AGM was a rejection of of trans rights.

“The Board’s concern was that the motion raised practical and operational challenges and introduced expectations around Parade messaging that conflicted with Mardi Gras’ long-standing approach to creative independence and diversity of community messaging

“We also sincerely apologise for the misgendering of Luna Choo in an internal document,” Delisle added. We have apologised directly to her, corrected the record, and correct pronouns or gender-neutral language will be used going forward.”

What happens after a Mardi Gras board director is censured?

There is no strict protocol around censuring a SGLMG Board Director.

Published in 2015, the SGLMG Constitution rules that directors are able to move a motion of reportable censure against a director at any time, so long as the motion is given at least 48 hours before the meeting in which the motion is set to be moved.

If a simple majority of directors present vote to pass the motion, Choo and Nguyen will have 24 hours to update and/or reaffirm their conflicts of interest in writing to be included in the Board’s Register of Interests, and confirm in writing that they will comply with the Board’s protocols around confidentiality and external communications.

If they fail to do so, the Board will begin “interim risk controls”, which include the restriction of access to organisational systems and communications channels; removal from committee roles or delegated responsibilities; and referral to Mardi Gras’ Audit and Risk Committee for review and recommendation of further risk controls.

Board members have been censured and removed from their positions before, with the last case in May 2023, when Skip Blofield, also a Pride In Protest member, made comments about police participation in Mardi Gras at a Green Left forum, as well as issues within the governance of the organisation.