 David Imrie
New Mardi Gras and Events NSW jointly announced a funding deal for the world’s largest gay and lesbian event on Wednesday.
NSW Premier Nathan Rees told Evolution Online that Mardi Gras was deserving of state support as: “It is a spectacular Sydney event and makes a significant contribution to our state’s economy.”
The news has generated a furore among sections of the mainstream media.
The Daily Telegraph led the charge, incorrectly reporting yesterday that the NSW Government was coming “to the financial aid of the debt-plagued event”, which posted a $500,000 profit last year.
The Telegraph invited readers to ‘have their say’ on the story online, and has so far published 525 responses, the majority of which slammed the funding deal. Typical was ‘Bill of Drummoyne’ who opined: “The next progression is to make homosexuality compulsory in NSW. I am livid and disgusted.”
‘Laurie’ complained: “What a nonsense. Funding a freak show yet cannot fund hospitals.”
Greg Semple of Windsor Downs said: “This money would have been better channelled into something far more deserving than this bunch of tutti-fruttis.”
Others called gay people “degenerate”, “disgusting” and “debauched”.
Telegraph blogger Piers Ackerman, meanwhile, wrote: “Why should taxpayers struggle to pay mortgages while semi-naked homosexuals dance on floats?”
One comment published on Ackerman's blog read: “I don’t mind that they want to parade in the street because then it makes it easier to find them so we can bash them up.”
Today, the Telegraph upped the ante with a new story, claiming that Mardi Gras organisers “wanted to take it beyond Sydney and into rural and regional NSW as part of a taxpayer-funded push to expand the event”.
New Mardi Gras Chair David Imrie flatly rejected the assertion when contacted by Evolution Online.
“There are no plans to tour Mardi Gras to rural or regional NSW,” he said. “It is the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – emphasis on Sydney.”
Imrie said the backlash in the Telegraph and on Sydney talkback radio emphasised the continuing relevance of Mardi Gras.
“There’s occasionally talk about whether Mardi Gras is still relevant or not. This backlash really does show how necessary it still is.
“We’ve come a long way, but clearly there’s a long way to go because this city, this country, and this planet is still littered with homophobic people living in the Dark Ages.”
Imrie emphasised that the State Government funding, the amount of which remains commercially confidential, was “not a gift, but an investment”.
“The homophobes who have come out of the woodwork should understand that this is an investment in NSW.” he said. “It will help Mardi Gras, yes, but it’s also for the state and its economy at large.”
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