Councillor Christine Forster and Keep Sydney Open have teamed up to request that Premier Gladys Berejiklian temporarily relax the Government’s lockout laws, as “a special gesture of goodwill to mark this year’s 40th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrations.”
Keep Sydney Open wrote on Facebook that “it is entirely appropriate that the lockouts be lifted on the night of the parade”, pointing out that The State Government has previously lifted lockouts during international sporting events and New Year’s Eve for both national significance and safety reasons.
They also quote the Government’s official reasoning: to help “reduce street congestion, pressures on public transport, and potential public safety risks that could otherwise occur if the lockout was in place and more people were trying to disperse after midnight or rushing to get into a licensed venue prior to 1.30am.”
While there are many practical reasons, Forster cites more important ones.
“I believe that such a gesture would have particular resonance with the LGBTIQ community, many members of which still hold raw memories of the terrible events which surrounded the first Mardi Gras in 1978. It would also be a particularly poignant gesture of reconciliation given the historic passing of Australia’s same-sex marriage legislation on 7 December 2017.”
Read her official letter below, and contact Berejiklian here.
