Moved by Councillor Forster, seconded by Councillor Chung –
It is resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i) the City of Sydney Event Guidelines currently state that 'The City of Sydney has a no balloons policy in all of its parks and open spaces' and that 'Balloons will not be permitted for any events';
(ii) in both 2016 and 2017, the Balloon Artists and Suppliers Association of Australasia (BASA) entered a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, both of which were accepted and approved by the event organiser, the City of Sydney;
(iii) the City of Sydney Event Application form has only recently been updated and now explicitly states that 'Balloons are not permitted';
(iv) as a result, BASA were unable to enter a float in the 2018 Mardi Gras Parade and will be unable to participate in future parades;
(v) the balloons used in the previous BASA floats are made of latex rubber and are 100% biodegradable;
(vi) the balloons used in the previous BASA floats are filled with air, not helium, so cannot float away;
(vii) the balloons used in the previous BASA floats are attached directly to the float and do not require any additional plastic ties or clips; and
(viii) the balloons used in the previous BASA floats have been responsibly disposed of following the completion of the parades; and
(B) the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:
(i) provide an exemption with regard to the use only of biodegradable, air-filled balloons for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade; and
(ii) require parade entrants wishing to use such balloons to give a written undertaking to dispose of them responsibly after the conclusion of the parade.
Variation. At the request of Councillor Miller, and by consent, the motion was varied, such that it read as follows:
(C) Council
note:
(i)
the City of Sydney Event Guidelines currently state
that 'The City of Sydney has a no balloons policy in all of its parks and open
spaces' and that 'Balloons will not be permitted for any events';
(ii)
in both 2016 and 2017, the Balloon Artists and
Suppliers Association of Australasia (BASA) entered a float in the Sydney Gay
and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, both of which were accepted and approved by the
event organiser, the City of Sydney;
(iii) the
City of Sydney Event Application form has only recently been updated and now
explicitly states that 'Balloons are not permitted';
(iv) as
a result, BASA were unable to enter a float in the 2018 Mardi Gras Parade and
will be unable to participate in future parades;
(v) the
balloons used in the previous BASA floats are made of latex rubber and are 100%
biodegradable;
(vi) the
balloons used in the previous BASA floats are filled with air, not helium, so
cannot float away;
(vii) the
balloons used in the previous BASA floats are attached directly to the float
and do not require any additional plastic ties or clips; and
(viii) the
balloons used in the previous BASA floats have been responsibly disposed of
following the completion of the parades; and
(D) the
Chief Executive Officer be requested to:
(i)
provide an exemption with regard to the use only
of biodegradable, air-filled balloons for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Parade;
(ii) require parade entrants wishing to use such balloons to give a written undertaking to dispose of them responsibly after the conclusion of the parade, and
(iii) in
line with Priority 1.2 of the City of Sydney’s Leave Nothing to Waste Strategy,
request that the City work with Mardi Gras to reduce single-use plastics at the
event.
Carried unanimously.
S129260