Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust is pulling its support of the Auckland Pride Parade following the banning of uniformed police participating.
Gresham Bradley, the Chair of the Trust, said the board had come to a "unanimous" decision and he labelled the Auckland Pride Board's choice to ban police in uniform as appearing to be "driven by a small and vociferous minority in the community".
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"The Trustees consider Pride's decision to refuse the NZ Police the right to march in uniform to be contrary to the Trust's key purpose," Mr Bradley says.
"The decision of the Auckland Pride Board... is contrary to the wishes of the vast majority of the Rainbow Community including those who have for many years fought hard for the rights we hold today in NZ."
The Board of Auckland Pride said it would prevent Police from marching in uniform as they "do not currently meet the degree of safety and awareness of intersectionality required by our rainbow communities".
New Zealand Police Senior District Liaison Officer Tracy Phillips said police officers were extremely disappointed by the board's decision, telling Newshub at the time if police are not welcome in uniform, then "we're not going to force ourselves on anybody".
And the New Zealand Defence Force has also opted out, saying it does not feel comfortable joining in an event that excludes other uniformed services.
Newshub.
