Sponsor Fletcher Building pulls out of Auckland Pride Parade
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Fletcher Building is the latest in a series of big corporations who have decided to pull funding or not attend Auckland's 2019 Pride Parade.
In a statement on Thursday the company announced its FB Pride Group had decided the company would 'step aside' from sponsoring the 2019 event.
'We will not be taking part in the parade as a company - we will still support other LGBTQI+ and Pride events during Auckland Pride Month, and our people are free to choose to join the parade as individuals.'
The decision was made as the company believed the Pride Board's decision was 'not in line with their values'.
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'Fletcher Building values championing diversity and inclusiveness in our workplace.
'We will be focusing on celebrating and promoting diversity and inclusiveness in the regions, including pride events in Hamilton, Christchurch and Wellington.'
The decision would be reassessed in 2020, the statement said.
A number of other organisations have pulled out of the 2019 event in response to the police uniform ban including the Defence Force, Westpac and the Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust.
The decision to ban the uniforms from the annual parade and ask police to march in T-shirts instead was made by the Auckland Pride Board after what they said was consultation within the community.
'The personal experiences of police mistreatment shared by LGBTQIA+ people throughout this lengthy consultation process were deeply affecting,' a statement from the board said.
'The intention [of the uniform ban] was to encourage all people within our rainbow communities to feel safe and included within their own event.'
Auckland isn't the first area to ban police uniforms from Pride Parades - the ban has been implemented in parts of the USA and Canada in the last few years.
A special general meeting would be held in early December to decide the future of Auckland's Pride board after four Pride members expressed a 'lack of confidence' over the police uniform ban.