Pride Board survives
The Auckland Pride board last night survived a no-confidence vote. A motion was introduced at a special general meeting after the board banned uniformed police officers from marching in the annual Pride parade.
The decision prompted a month of division within the rainbow community. Several sponsors of the event have withdrawn their support. The motion was defeated 325 to 273.
The board of Auckland Pride has survived a no-confidence vote, sparked by more a month of division within the LGBTI+ community.
Hundreds of people gathered last night at Pitt St Methodist Church in central Auckland for a special general meeting of the organisation which runs the Auckland Pride Festival.
After initially deliberating on whether to allow the media in — they were — a motion of no-confidence against the board was eventually put to a vote about 9pm.
It was defeated by 52 votes — 273 for the motion and 325 against. Only those who had registered before the meeting were eligible to vote.
The board hit turbulence last month when it announced it would ban uniformed police officers from marching in the February Pride Parade, a flagship event on the festival programme.
Several companies and sponsors withdrew their support and said they wouldn’t participate. Among them were Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust, the New Zealand Defence Force, Vodafone New Zealand’s Rainbow Wha¯nau, SkyCity and NZME, which publishes the Herald.
There was strong support last night for both sides of the debate. Anthony Russell, who moved the motion, said Pride should be about engaging not excluding.
It’s unclear whether the board would have stood down had they lost. A report on gayexpress.co.nz said the board had commissioned a legal opinion that found it would not have to resign even if the motion were carried.
“Mark Von Dadelszen has concluded in his report that under the current Auckland Pride constitution, the board will not have to resign in the event of a no-confidence motion, effectively rendering the purpose of tonight’s SGM pointless,” the report said.