Auckland Pride Parade to continue in 2019 despite reports of cancellation

Wednesday, 19 December 2018

The parade became mired in controversy when police were banned from marching in uniform. (Video first published in Jan 2019)

Auckland's Pride Parade will not be cancelled in 2019, despite reports that it would be replaced with a march.

Confusion arose after a hui held on Tuesday evening, after a Pride member floated an idea to have a 'coming-out march' instead of a parade.

Auckland Pride board member Zakk d'Larté confirmed on Wednesday the parade was not cancelled.

However, during the hui 'people that left halfway through just came up with factually incorrect statements and they started to flourish and get around', d'Larté said.

Rumours were flying that next year's Pride Parade would not take place - instead, it would be a march.

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'Last night was an opportunity for us to say our ideas and our thought processes at this point, but then we opened the floor to people's ideas and someone from the floor suggested if we could make it a coming-out march like we used to have all these years ago.

'It was a suggestion from the membership and that's now spiralled to 'the parade's cancelled' and 'there's only going to a march and a protest' and we're like 'hold up, we have not decided this'.'

Police are no longer welcome to march in uniforms at the Auckland Pride Parade.

The Auckland Pride board had not yet reconvened to discuss Tuesday night's hui but it was still committed to a community-led parade, he said.

'We have full intention for there to be a celebration.

'It's going to be a grassroots-led parade but maybe the shape and form will look different to previous years.'

Next year's Pride Parade would be 'queer, rainbow, beautiful and gayer than ever,' d'Larté said.

The hui followed a special general meeting of the board, held on December 6, where members survived a 'no confidence' vote over their decision to ban police from marching in uniform in the 2019 parade.

The vote was 273 for the vote of no confidence, and 325 against.

A number of corporate sponsors and participants pulled out of the parade over the ban.

A Givealittle page was set up by a group including ActionStation's director Laura O'Connell Rapira to replace the parade's corporate funding.

Since then, public donations have reached more than $30,000.

The board still had plans to meet with police, and d'Larté was excited to see how they could 'revitalise' their relationship, he said on Wednesday.

A media release from the board said dancer Joel Walsham would be taking up a new role of Pride festival coordinator.

Walsham said the festival would include a range of events, and the board would work with groups all across Auckland and from different sectors of the rainbow community.

'Given the intense conversations we have been having in our community, I think that it is right that we reconsider what these big events of our festival look like,' he said.