There are growing calls for a dedicated Pride Events Fund in NSW to help pride festivals continue in the state.
The calls come off the back of Tamworth Pride organisers announcing they had made the decision to cancel both their Pride Fair Day and After Party.
President of Tamworth Pride, William Weller, said he felt the pain of the community at the loss, but they were unable to secure enough sponsorship to run the events.
“Events like ours are so important for our community not simply just to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride but are also an opportunity for us to bring local services supporting our community to the one place where people who might be struggling can access services we know are supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Weller.
“Regional events especially struggle to be successful in grant applications due to lack of local council support, competition with much larger metropolitan organisations and are often supported by small volunteer committees who are trying to work, raise families and make things happen in their community.”
The cancellation of Tamworth Pride follows the cancellation of other pride events including Wagga Wagga’s Mardi Gras and even Sydney’s Mardi Gras cancelling its After Party.
NSW Greens spokesperson for LGBTQIA+ issues, Dr Amanda Cohn, told Gay Sydney Daily that events like Tamworth Pride were life-changing for their local communities.
“Queer people always have been and always will be part of rural Australia, and should be safe, visible and celebrated without having to leave their community,” she said.
“This has lasting benefits for individual and community wellbeing.”
The cancellation of this event and other pride events showed why a dedicated pride events fund was needed, said Dr Cohn.
“Pride events in NSW are often left to rely on piecemeal fundraising and short-term grants, with no specific or long-term government funding,” Dr Cohn said.
“LGBTQIA+ community events are vulnerable, despite their enormous cultural and social value. These events are crucial, especially for young people and for those living in regional and rural communities, where visibility and connection can be life-changing.”
Dr Cohn also added that having a dedicated fund would give time back to pride organisers, by removing the need to chase sponsorship.
“Multi-year grants would mean volunteers can spend more time doing the organising work that really matters and less time fundraising and chasing sponsorship.”
The Greens have pointed to Victoria as an example, with the state earlier this year setting up a specific Pride Events and Festivals Fund.
The Fund provides grants of up to $25,000 to support LGBTQIA+ community events and festivals in the state, with a total grant pool of $400,000.
The fund has so far supported more than 270 events.
Back in February, Dr Cohn asked Arts Minister John Graham about setting up a NSW version of such a fund.
At the time, Graham said he would look at the Victorian Government’s approach and see if it was something that could be done in NSW.
Gay Sydney Daily reached out to his office for comment.
