Several hundred protesters marched down Oxford Street in Sydney on March 5 to celebrate the LGBTI community as well as protest the Religious Discrimination Bill and the corporatisation of Mardi Gras.
The rally began at Taylor Square and ended with a dance party at Hyde Park. Organised by Pride in Protest (PIP) and Community Action for Rainbow Rights, the protest was attended by various community organisations, activists and the 78ers, organisers of the original 1978 Mardi Gras protest.
At the official Mardi Gras parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground that evening, Barbara Karpinski, a 78er, was ejected by New South Wales Police for holding a poster calling for peace in Ukraine. PIP has called for an open forum on police suppression of protest after the incident.
