ALBANY PRIDE would like to take the opportunity to express its sincere admiration, love and gratitude to all our fellow Pride organisations that organised peaceful presences in their respective regions where the Australian Christian Lobby’s (ironically titled) ‘Truth of It’ event travelled to, in order to show support for their LGBTQIA+ communities.

There can be no doubt of the immense grit, dedication and determination our fellow Pride Organisations have displayed, and their commitment to improving life for LGBTQIA+ people, and their friends and families, all over Western Australia. We know the colossal amount of time, effort and energy that goes into this, the frustration experienced, and the emotional toll it can take. Of course, we also want to express our appreciation to every single person that supports these organisations!

We’d also like to extend our appreciation to the many people of faith that have spoken out against the rhetoric of the Australian Christian Lobby and similar organisations, and made it clear that these lobby groups certainly do not represent them or speak on their behalf – your voices are incredibly important.

The ACL’s ‘Truth of It’ event also came to Albany: but as a committee, we made the decision to not hold a peaceful presence outside of the Albany Entertainment Centre on the date in question and to pay no more attention to the events until the end of its run in Western Australia. This wasn’t a decision we took lightly, and was by no means the result of apathy on our part.

As you’re aware, the last time the Australian Christian Lobby entered Albany with their characteristically toxic brand of inane, ill-informed and spurious drivel, we became embroiled in a media storm that left us exhausted (but certainly not defeated). The furore that surrounded the event emboldened many to shamelessly express their vile and barbarous attitudes towards our LGBTQIA+ community. Whilst we are still immensely proud of our LGBTQIA+ community and allies for the way they conducted themselves and handled the situation, we felt that we could not put our community through it all again so soon after what happened last time.

In other words, this time we decided not to feed the trolls.

Instead, we decided to continue to concentrate all of our time and energy into all of our upcoming events that will benefit our LGBTQIA+ and ally community. Working with Liberté, this month sees the launch of our very own gay bar on the last Friday of every month; we have our Fair Day and Quiz Night in September, and of course, we are very busy organising everything for our Pride Festival in February 2022 – which promises to be our biggest and most ambitious yet – with much more to come before then too.

As the Australian Christian Lobby continue to flog their very dead horse to desperately delay the inevitable, we’re bolting forward with the times and embracing the future with open arms. Of course, none of this would have been possible without our members, supporters, and volunteers that make this happen and help shape Albany into the city that is every bit as beautiful as its natural surroundings.

We hope you will all join us in thanking our family organisations for the work and advocacy they do elsewhere in Western Australia to make things better for our LGBTQIA+ communities throughout the state, and in appreciating those who organised and participated in peaceful presences to show LGBTQIA+ that they are not alone and are supported.

A list of support services and Pride organisations across Western Australia are available on our website at https://albanypride.com.au/support/.

To the LGBTQIA+ community, our friends, families and allies – keep being you, keep your heads held high, and keep making your communities better for everyone, not just a select “chosen” few. As always, we see you, we hear you, and we love you.

Stay fabulous!