Members of Pride WA who attended the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday night found themselves at an epic discussion about the organisation’s financial performance, governance and strategic planning.
The AGM held at the Pride Centre in Northbridge and was also made available to members via live stream for the first time. The meeting began shortly after it’s scheduled beginning at 6:30pm, but those who attended were still there past 11pm in the evening.
New board members elected
The AGM saw the election of eight new board members, with ten candidates vying for the positions. Originally twelve people had put their hand up to join, but candidates Paul Benson and Nickie McKimmie had withdrawn.
Among the candidates were current President Michael Felix and board members Richard Kendall, Catherine Janssen and Natalie Pronin. All except Pronin were returned, and joining them at the next board meeting will be Justin Barnes, Nicole Corbett, Peter Foster, Shuan Mackenzie and Thomas Drake-Brockman.
Barnes, who is also the chair of Gay Games partner organisation Team Perth, has a background in sales and marketing and is a business owner. While Mackenzie works at Tourism WA in policy and program management, he assured the members his day job would not be a conflict of interest with the upcoming 2030 Gay Games that Pride WA has successfully secured.
Peter Foster is well know to the LGBTIQA+ community having recently served as a member of parliament. Thomas Drake-Brockman is a doctor who works in the Great Southern region and is also the chair of Transfolk WA, as well as serving on the boards of several medical organisations.
Nicolle Corbett was elected for another stint on the board, having previously served several terms throughout Pride WA’s three-decade history. She was previously a committee member in 2001 – 2002, in 2007 and again in 2014. Corbett spoke about her desire to encourage members to be more ‘hands on’ and to build links with the creative communities.
Steven Hilton, who is a priest and previously contributed to Manchester Pride before emigrating to Australia, was unsuccessful in his bid to join the board but provided one of the evenings highlights with a hilarious pitch about himself.
Ahead of the vote each of the candidates was quizzed by members about a range of issues including their levels of commitment, political affiliations and their thoughts on accepting funding and sponsorship from resources companies.
The political affiliations of candidates had been highlighted following the recent stoush between the Pride Board and Rainbow Labor over signage allowed in the Pride Parade, and rules around political messaging.
During the candidate interrogations Drake-Brockman, Corbett, and Foster acknowledged they were current Labor members, while Janssen confirmed she had previously been a member. Both McKimmie and Benson, who withdrew ahead of the vote, are both high profile members of Rainbow Labor.
Current secretary Gregory Helleren thanked all the candidates for bravely putting themselves forward and noted that there had been some questionable campaigning ahead of the meeting. An member taking part in the online broadcast of the meeting also accused Helleren of campaigning for specific candidates, a suggestion that he thoroughly denied.
While no specific issues were highlighted at the meeting, in the days leading up to the AGM a series of anonymous posts began appearing in Facebook groups questioning the financial management of the organisation and the attendance levels at the 2025 PrideFEST.
One video clip showed an almost empty auditorium at the recent Pride Live event at The Ice Cream Factory where Miami Horror were the headline act. The clip was clearly taken early in the evening not long after the doors opened, many hours before Miami Horror hit the stage, and while the event was far from packed, the imagery presented was not an accurate representation of the crowd who showed up.
Pride board members have also confirmed that Pride involvement in this years event was only a marketing exercise involving the Pride Live name being added to the existing Ice Cream Factory gig.
Concerns over financial management in 2024-2025
Concerns over the board’s financial management were raised though with the report showing the organisation had ended up with a deficit.
“While the organisation recorded a net loss of $184,748, this outcome reflects deliberate
strategic investment rather than structural financial weakness.” Chair Michael Felix wrote in his role as Acting Treasurer.
During the meeting it was stressed that organisation still had substantial cash reserves, and was far from being financially unviable. However the depletion of some of those cash reserves led to members passing a motion instructing the board to develop a clear policy for future financial maneuvers that impact the reserves with a requirement that the policy development include consultation with relevant financial experts.
The period had seen the organisation lay the ground work for many successes including locking in bi-annual and tri-annual funding sources, an extended lease for the Pride Centre in Northbridge that runs through to 2030, the awarding of the Gay Games, and a PrideFEST with increased engagement.
The over expenditure was attributed to a second staff member being employed during the 2024 PrideFEST period so as to allow work by the CEO on the Gay Games bid, and also the additional marketing costs of creating the Gay Games Bid Books.
Chair Michael Felix also described the approach of establishing more ticketed events at the 2024 Pride Festival as one that had not met expectation, attributing growing cost of living pressures leading to people have less disposable income to spend on entertainment. He noted that the board had taken a very different approach for the recent 2025 edition and it was expected to have a much better financial result.
New Honourary members announced
Four new Honourary Members of Pride WA were announced. Previously these were referred to as Life Members, but it was changed in an recent update to the organsiation’s constitution.
Recognition was given to Louise Pratt, Scott Telfer, Kedy Krystal and the late Peter Robinson.
A long citation for each new Honourary Member was read out, which also added to the length of the meeting.
Louise Pratt was described as one of Western Australia’s most enduring and influential champions
for LGBTQIA+ equality. As a former Senator for Western Australia and a long-serving Member of the WA Legislative Council, Pratt has spent decades driving legislative and social reform to advance the rights, safety, and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people.
Kedy Kristal is the Executive Officer of GRAI – GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc – and one of
Western Australia’s most dedicated advocates for older LGBTQIA+ people. Over decades of
work in community services and domestic and family violence, and now in ageing and aged
care, Kedy has focused on one clear goal: ensuring that queer elders are safe, respected,
and able to live and age with dignity.
Scott Telfer, the manager of Connections Nightclub was acknowledged as a pillar of Western Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community for more than a decade, dedicating his leadership, compassion, and steadfast commitment to creating safer, more connected spaces for all.
While former Connection Nightclub owner Peter Robinson was a posthumous inclusion remembered for being a defining figure in Western Australia’s LGBTQIA+ history and a driving force behind the evolution of Connections Nightclub into one of the state’s most important cultural, creative, and community spaces.
Krystal and Telfer were present at the meeting, while Robinson weas represented by his former partner Tim Brown. Louise Pratt had sent a formal apology and was unable to attend.
Lots of questions left unanswered
With the meeting extending past 11pm a decision was made to suspend any General Business questions.
With several members indicating they had extensive questions they wanted to put to the board on a range of issues, it began to look like the meeting may never end. An agreement was reached that members could submit their questions to the new board and their answers would be made available to members.
But perhaps the questions that needed to be answered most is why at a time when the organisation is achieving some of it’s greatest successes is it facing room of disgruntled members?
Why can’t people keep an AGM to a reasonable time? Does the new board of Pride WA need to have more opportunities throughout the year to speak to its members? Do you need to give long verbal presentations on the achievements of the last year when the information is already in the meeting papers that were sent out in advance?
