Progress, Together: My Plan for a Stronger, Sustainable, Vibrant Mardi Gras, for Everyone
Mardi Gras has never been just a festival, march or parade.
It is a feeling, a memory, a moment of being seen.
It is protest, celebration and community care all happening at once.
For many of us, Mardi Gras is where we first felt that spark of possibility: this is who I am, this is where I belong.
But Mardi Gras is also at a crossroads.
Financial pressures are real. Community expectations are shifting. The world around us is becoming more polarised, and our community here locally is being tested by political movements and mindsets that want to tear us apart.
We are heading into our 50th anniversary at a time when our institutions need to be able to adapt, grow and hold their purpose firm.
If Mardi Gras is going to continue to thrive, it has to be sustainable. It has to be grounded in community. It has to remain welcoming and relevant for the next generation, and the one after that.
This is why I’m running for the Board. Progress is possible when we do it together.
I believe in practical, thoughtful, community-led progress. I believe in celebrating where we have come from, while building a future where every person knows that Mardi Gras is a place for them.
I want to contribute to a Mardi Gras that remains grounded in community, sustainable in its operations, culturally rich and respectful, and genuinely welcoming.
I will be honest in my approach. Not everything has a quick solution. But we can make steady, thoughtful steps that strengthen the foundations of the Festival.
Above all, I want to lead by listening and by uniting, not dividing - bringing our community together.
My plan focuses on five priorities that I will work to advance if elected to the Board:
Championing active inclusivity, so that every person feels genuinely welcome at Mardi Gras.
Strengthening and building meaningful partnerships that keep the Festival financially sustainable and embedded in community.
Ensuring safety, accessibility and transparency across every event, including clarity on where community and government funding is being spent.
Celebrating our history while creating space for new leadership and the next generation of stories.
Expanding engagement with regional and multicultural LGBTQIA+ communities across NSW and beyond.
CHAMPIONING ACTIVE INCLUSIVITY
Mardi Gras should feel like home. Not just for some of us, but for all of us: trans and non-binary community members, First Nations people, people of colour, people with disability, elders, youth, rural and regional community members, and those whose identities and experiences are often overlooked or assumed.
Active inclusivity means we don’t simply welcome diversity. We design for it.
Mardi Gras is powerful because it can act both as a mirror, reflecting our identities back to us, and as a magnet, drawing us toward a shared sense of belonging and possibility. When people see themselves in the Festival, they are more likely to show up, participate and invest in it.
Active inclusivity means:
Designing events with accessibility in mind from the beginning.
Ensuring diverse representation in programming, storytelling and leadership.
Creating spaces where people feel safe to express who they are without needing to justify it.
It also involves responsibility. No one should be turned away from Mardi Gras. But everyone who attends has a responsibility to show up respectfully. Community only works when we look after one another. Pride is not just visibility; it is accountability to something bigger than ourselves.
The goal is a Mardi Gras that holds many identities comfortably, and where inclusivity is something practiced, not just stated.
STRENGTHENING AND BUILDING MEANINGFUL PARTNERSHIPS
Mardi Gras doesn’t need to own every event to have impact.
In fact, some of the most meaningful parts of our culture already exist outside the Festival footprint, created and led by community members, artists, drag collectives, cultural groups and local organisers who know their people and their spaces best.
I believe Mardi Gras should work alongside these events rather than trying to absorb them. That means partnering, amplifying, resourcing where possible, and helping connect audiences and opportunities. When we lift up what community is already doing well, the whole ecosystem becomes stronger and more vibrant. This is how we honour the culture that built us, and ensure it continues to grow.
Reimaging Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships
Mardi Gras needs to be financially sustainable. That’s simply the reality of delivering a festival of this scale. Partnerships play a key role in that.
Corporate partnerships are not the enemy. The real challenge is ensuring they are meaningful, values-aligned and community-serving.
The festival needs sustainable finances. That is reality. But bringing money into the Festival cannot come at the cost of our soul or our independence.
The question is not whether we have partners, but how we partner and what those relationships contribute to community outcomes.
Meaningful partnerships look like:
Partners that show up for our LGBTQIA+ community all year, not just when the cameras are on.
Agreements where both the partner/sponsor and LGBTQIA+ community or groups contributes and both receive value, rather than a transactional approach.
Community benefit programs tied directly to sponsorship outcomes.
This might look like cultural programming funds, community access initiatives, workplace inclusion outcomes, or support for emerging queer artists and performers.
We should not be afraid to ask more of those who want to align themselves with Mardi Gras.
Partnerships should feel earned on both sides - not transactional, and not symbolic. I believe in moving toward partnerships that are more relational, more thoughtful, and more transparent.
Mardi Gras is one of the most recognisable cultural moments in Australia. That comes with power. Let’s use it with purpose.
ENSURING SAFETY, ACCESSIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
Everyone deserves to show up, celebrate and feel safe and seen. This includes safety for performers, volunteers, attendees and the communities we celebrate through our programming.
Transparency means being clear about decisions, budgets and priorities. When community money, government grants and sponsorship funds are involved, it is essential that people know how those dollars are being used to deliver outcomes.
Strengthening this includes:
Clear event safety plans that are communicated early and openly.
Access considerations that are not an afterthought.
Community feedback mechanisms that are ongoing, not one-off.
Reporting on budgets and spending in ways that are easy to understand.
Transparency builds trust, and trust is what keeps people engaged. Accessibility ensures people can show up. Safety ensures that showing up is joyful and meaningful.
When these three things work together, the Festival feels grounded and community-led.
CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY
Our history matters deeply. It shapes our identity and reminds us of the courage and defiance that brought us to where we are today. I believe we honour the 78ers and all who have built this movement not only by remembering them, but by continuing the work of change.
At the same time, Mardi Gras needs to create real opportunities for new voices and new cultural expressions to emerge. This is how movements stay alive.
This includes:
Preserving and promoting the stories that shape our identity.
Ensuring our 50th anniversary honours the movement and its people.
Programming that highlights both legacy and innovation.
Supporting intergenerational collaboration and mentorship.
Encouraging fresh leadership pathways, especially for those who have historically felt excluded from Board rooms or decision-making spaces.
Mardi Gras is not a museum piece. It is a living, breathing cultural force. It evolves. It adapts. It leads. We can honour our past while boldly shaping our future.
EXPANDING ENGAGEMENT
Mardi Gras does not begin and end at Oxford Street.
Regional Pride groups, multicultural LGBTQIA+ communities, grassroots organisers and community leaders are building incredible things across NSW and beyond. Many of these groups operate with limited resources, yet offer connection, belonging and resilience in ways that deserve more recognition and support.
If Mardi Gras is truly for everyone, then our relationships and presence cannot be city-bound.
Expanding engagement could look like:
Strengthening partnerships with regional and culturally diverse LGBTQIA+ community organisations.
Supporting satellite events, creative residencies and touring performances.
Engaging communities in co-design rather than parachuting in.
Programming that reflects the full breadth of queer identities and cultural expressions.
If Mardi Gras is going to be for everyone, it needs to be present in the places where our community already is, not just where it has always been.
There is extraordinary power in showing up for each other across geography, culture and identity. That is how we grow a movement that lasts.
A MARDI GRAS FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS
We are approaching a milestone moment. The 50th anniversary is not just a celebration. It is a turning point. It is a chance to reflect, reset and renew. We can take the best of who we have been and carry it forward into something stronger, more resilient and more connected.
There is no single solution to the challenges the Festival faces. But there is a direction: progress that is grounded, collaborative and accountable. A Mardi Gras that looks inwards to reflect who we are, and outwards to draw more people in. A shift toward being a stronger mirror and a stronger magnet.
I am showing up because I believe in what Mardi Gras can be. I believe in our community. I believe in our capacity to lead with care, courage and clarity.
I believe we can build a Mardi Gras that is stronger, more sustainable, more vibrant and importantly - for everyone. One that honours the past, holds the present, and prepares for the future.
With your support, we can build a more inclusive, sustainable and successful Mardi Gras and deliver Progress, Together!