Mon 7 Mar 2016 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Tension between two float entries in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade led to one group being threatened with expulsion from the parade and the order of the floats being changed to separate the two groups. Mardi Gras Parade producer Anthony Russell (r) issues the ultimatum to Ed McMahon of No Pride In Detention The parade organiser issued the expulsion ultimatum to the No Pride In Detention group which was drawing attention to the plight of gay refugees caught up in Australia's offshore refugee processing system. No Pride in Detention and the Labor Party float featuring leader Bill Shorten had been scheduled to parade one after another but were separated after the protest group shouted a series of chants at the end of Shorten's media conference half an hour before the parade started. Parade producer Anthony Russell told protester Ed McMahon: “If I bring Bill Shorten out here now and one of you people say something to him, you are not in the fucking parade. Do you understand that? So... you talk to your people right now, OK. You’ve got one more chance. If you don’t, if you can’t act like a normal human being, all in the parade together, then you’re out.” When McMahon objected Russell told him "I’m the producer of the parade, yeah I can do it!”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 7th March 2016 - 8:26pm