About 20 people attended a “Straight Lives Matter” rally organised by the far-right Party for Freedom in a Sydney park on September 23.
By contrast, about 10,000 people took part in Brisbane’s Pride march on the same day and 30,000 attended Sydney’s “Say Yes” rally on September 9.
A stage had been set up for Nick Folkes to address the anticipated throng, but the crowd was sparse, massively outnumbered by the 60 police assigned to keep order.
Members of the LGBTI community were warned to avoid the event as it seemed the event organisers may have been deliberately trying to provoke a response from Yes advocates.
Lauren Foy from the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby said: “The goal of this group is not to persuade nor debate. It is to provoke a response and increase media attention.
“There is no benefit to you hearing, again, the debunked ‘slippery slope’ claims about LGBTI people and marriage equality promoted by this group.”
Instead, people took to social media. “The ‘Straight Lives Matter’ rally or ‘a couple of people in a park’. You be the judge,” comedian Kirsty Webeck tweeted.
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