Mardi Gras gets a new board

The New Mardi Gras board elected last night will meet next Wednesday to elect a leader.

The new board includes David Imrie, Kirk Muddle, William Law, Greg Small and the only woman, former co-chair Steph Sands.

The first board meeting will be held next Wednesday night, 3 September.

Last night’s meeting, which was rescheduled after Saturday’s AGM failed to attract a quorum, also drew only a handful of people, prompting current chair David Imrie to lament the lack of involvement in the organisation.

“Personally, I find it disappointing that from a membership of over 3000 people there are only such a small group of people who are willing to take the time out of their busy lives to attend this AGM, Imrie told the meeting.

It is a shame to think that our organisation does not mean enough to see more members attending.
We are continually questioned about our relevance to the GLBT community. I consider our organisation to represent our community – its history, interests and future.

In moving forward though we need to look at ways we can create a stronger sense of engagement.”

Treasurer William Law was not at the meeting so all questions on New Mardi Gras financial statement could not be answered directly.

Instead members were directed to email questions to [email protected].

There were also spirited questions from Liz Dodds on the expected future impact on music copyright and performing rights costs.

Imrie told the meeting the organisation expected those costs to escalate.

We went through extensive negotiations with the PPCA this year and managed to get a reduced total package figure covering the whole season, but there was a notation that they wouldn’t be doing so in the future, he said.

So we are looking at ways to distribute those costs so that it doesn’t all fall on the organisation. We are also taking external advice on the matter.

Dodds also questioned a recent advertisement seeking an executive assistant for New Mardi Gras general manager Anna McInerney.

Dodds said it she had heard the next staff appointment would be for a production manager or a creative role.

Imrie said the organisation was exploring the possibilities for an entirely new staffing plan for the entire organisation.

He said the advertisement was placed as a means of exploring what was on offer in the market and what the costs might be. He said any appointment would depend on a number of budgetary concerns, including the possibility of government funding.

info: Any questions about the New Mardi Gras AGM or annual report should be emailed to [email protected]