Tue 26 Jan 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
As rumours that the Department of Corrections has been excluded from the forthcoming Auckland Pride Parade continue to echo around social media Auckland Pride says no one has yet been banned from the parade. Staff of the St John Ambulance service march in the parade. Considerable controversy has been raging since last year's parade when the number of corporate entries in the parade increased markedly and the Police and Department of Corrections formally appeared. The presence of the latter two were strenuously protested by the No Pride In Prisons group. In recent days passionate debate on both sides of the issue have ramped up on the likes of Facebook In a statement provided through its public relations agency after GayNZ.com Daily News raised the issue with them this morning, the Pride board says "No individuals have been banned from participating in the Pride Parade." The statement goes on to say “Auckland Pride Festival checks all group applications to ensure the organisations they represent uphold the human rights of the Rainbow Community. We are currently talking to some organisations about this, and hope that everyone can participate come 20th February.” A number of questions seeking clarifications and further details such as when in-or-out decisions will be made were put to the board this morning but responses have yet to be received.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 26th January 2016 - 12:29pm