Azure Party shut down by police

[Christian Taylor]

http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/436/Azure_Shut_Down_By_Police

Who was there? Such a shame that this happened, as I heard that this year's party really nailed it. Everyone was having a great time, the weather improved just as things were getting underway... After the events of last year, and now this - what future is there for Azure? Is it too difficult to have a party in such an open, public space? Would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts...

[ryanmurphy]

There I was one and a half minutes into my first track, standing at the front of the stage when I heard the sound levels start to drop off…. I raced back to the mixer, everything was fine, I ran down stairs to where the front of house engineers were to check what was going on and witnessed the stage manager call across the emergency microphone “ this party has been closed by the police, please leave the venue in an orderly fashion (or words to that effect).

At that point in time the harsh reality of the situation hit. The announcement was repeated and five thousand people issued their own response “boooooo”; moments latter the heavens opened up and washed away the last sparkle of hope that it was all a mistake.

Turn the clock back a six hours where I was walking to the party towing a box of records and I was greeted by a dog. The dog didn’t seem to pay much attention to the crowd moving decidedly towards the event. I watched people panic; they were going everywhere, moving across the road from the dog, bunching up in groups etc. People around me who were carrying their party favourites immediately took them once they were clear of the dog. This is what I guess you would call a ‘public health risk’. People making a choice to get rid of all and any items in their possession based on fear of incrassation.

I am no stranger to drug raids having worked in our clubs for a decade. Nothing changes… raid after raid, the prices stay the same, and the availability never changes. Occasionally political agendas move ahead public health.

I would ask that you don’t direct your obvious anger at the police. The police are an instrument that acts under instruction of a political state. I had a number of police apologise to me. Most of them could not believe it either.

Thank you to everyone who worked very hard on the party… you knows who you are. Than you to everyone that came to support this charity community event. Thank you to the people who came to hear me play my set that I did not get to play at Manacle latter on that night.

My thoughts are with Mardi Gras and Toybox for next week. It is almost a given that the same kind of activity will be present at these parties.

Remember that when you party, it’s your choices that will ultimately affect others and sometimes the choices of others will affect you. Be safe.

[jasn]

thanks ryanmurphy

When I began reading your reply I was dreading you'd be militantly anti-police and pro-partying-at-all-costs

But you're on-the-spot reporting is pretty balanced.

[taylor-dayne]

Its full on - can't help but wonder how much this has to do with a "pretty girl from the North Shore" dying at good vibes. are we getting the blame for this? are we the target? the moment "the fun" goes wrong suddenly a solution is required. POLICE to the rescue. last week the father of the girl and her boyfriend and friends were saying it was a tragic accident and putting the blame on dealers and manufacturers - HELLO - it was HER fault. SHE took the risk. end of story.

[jasn]

Its full on - can't help but wonder how much this has to do with a "pretty girl from the North Shore" dying at good vibes. are we getting the blame for this? are we the target? the moment "the fun" goes wrong suddenly a solution is required. POLICE to the rescue. last week the father of the girl and her boyfriend and friends were saying it was a tragic accident and putting the blame on dealers and manufacturers - HELLO - it was HER fault. SHE took the risk. end of story.

I'm not sure the way you reference her is entirely necessary.

It probably has less to do with the deceased girl and more to do with a non-trivial increase in drug related violence

Yes taking drugs is a choice. Given that taking and selling drugs is illegal, you are also choosing to risk this kind of police attention. End of story.

[hawaii60]

Yet again the gay community is reminded that the Labour Party practises repression of our rights of free association, aided by their instruments the Police. They are the enemy of the gay community, and NSW is moving inexorably towards a Police state, as evidenced by the huge resources used over the last week (at great inconvenience to Sydneysiders) to protect the international war criminal Cheney and terrorize anti-war protestors wanting merely to exercise their democratic rights. What hypocrites the Police are to pretend that they care about the health and safety of party-goers: if that was the case, why were the searches not done as party-goers entered the party rather than when it could be guaranteed that they would be busted in possession of drugs? Please remember this incident when casting your votes in the next election, and subsequently, and give your votes to our true friends, the Greens and the independents.

- Eddie

[Tim D]

Great to have a first hand account there Ryan, thanks. What a set to be cut off as well!

It was the first Harbour Party I've missed in about 5 years, so I guess it was a good one to take off....but I shudder to think of the repercussions this is going to have on future events.

[jewie]

I was at the party last night and like many of the other party goers I was having a great time. Despite the very obvious heavy Police presence at the party I felt very safe celebrating with my friends and community.

The Police assertions that their decision to shutdown the party due to safety concerns for the patrons seems to be very misguided. The party provided a contained space with access to a medically supervised tent, water, ACON's drug rovers and emergency services - including the protection of the Police. The space provided a safe environment for any party goer who got themselves in trouble regardless of the legality of any drugs they were using (keeping in mind the effects excessive alcohol consumption can have).

I fear that the use of sniffer dogs may encourage some party goers to take more in a shorter space of time in order to reduce the qualities they have on them. Adding to this, the act of shutting down the party had the effect of suddenly dispersing party goers, some heading home or to other venues but all heading away from the safety provided by the medical services provided at the party.

Surely a better (and safer) decision would have been to allow the party to continue and ensure all party goers remained within a safe environment.

[danny corvini]

Holy Moly... Is this some sort of warning shot ahead of Mardi Gras? I personally can't see the Mardi Gras party ever actually being shut down, but I guess it's worth watching out for undercover police in the car parks and other routes to the party..

Was Oxford Street's bars full because of the shut down??

And - I have to say - can the Sydney party scene cope with cutting down on its drug use, and "freedom to take drugs at all costs" (bit of a reference to Taylor Dayne's post there). The Melbourne scene is so much more drinks orientated, and no one seems to be suffering for it...

[Aries Fairy]

I'm probably going to get crucified for saying this but I am on the police's side.

Arresting a couple of peoeple for drugs at a party is one thing, but twenty six of them! Come on guys, I think it's a sign that as a community we've gone too far. 26 people means a lot of police work, searching, booking time, taking back to the station, taking statements. If 26 were arrested and the party still had a few hours to go, what do you think the total would have been if it was allowed to continue? 30? 40? 50? Plus a couple of overdoses for good meaure. The media would have loved that more than the Good Vibes girl.

I am not an anti-drug crusader my any stretch (I've had my fair amount of fun), but I think the police had every right to stop the party once the number of arrest became ridiculous.

We gotta wake up to ourselves and have a look at what we're doing to our community.

[jasn]

well said, Aries

[remix_addict]

It's no coincidence that this has happened just before a state election. These actions sanctioned by the state government are designed to create media exposure to try and show that, yes, you can trust Iemma to keep us all safe from those nasty partygoers. If only the police were so thorough in trying to prevent the increasing violence in the Oxford Street area. I live in hope that what happened at Azure doesn't happen on Saturday night, as I believe such actions are detrimental to the safety of partygoers.

And please, before anyone posts a reply along the lines of "if partygoers want to be safe they shouldn't do drugs in the first place", think twice before putting in print such juvenile responses.

[jasn]

And please, before anyone posts a reply along the lines of "if partygoers want to be safe they shouldn't do drugs in the first place", think twice before putting in print such juvenile responses.

People have a right to their own opinions on that.

Regardless, drug use is a reality, and therefor so is the occasional police search.

[Marcin28]

stop taking drugs ,,,,, there can be fun without ,,,:) :)

[Gruso]

I hope this isn't a preview of things to come. Right now it's just a night out ruined. In the future, dance parties could be little more than campfire stories. It all smells a bit like America's (now renamed) RAVE Act.

Of course, it was suggested over dinner tonight that I might just be spouting some paranoid lefty crap. Maybe, maybe not. The first hand stories I've heard about the situation over there (troops raiding outdoor parties, security guards in city venues enforcing "no dancing" policies) are truly sobering. Pardon the irony.

I'd hate to think that it could happen here in Australia. Even though the door to all of this is opened by illegal activity, it's worth keeping an eye on how far our freedom gets eroded. (I wanted to avoid using Bush's favourite F word, but it couldn't be done.)

Maybe (let's get abstract) there's a greater good in it. Maybe the end of dance parties and the drugs that are often involved really would be beneficial to society, and the universe, and all the turtles, and baby Jesus. Don't let idealism ruin your day though.

There ought to be limits to the consequences of a little bit of naughtiness.

[AdrianDSydney]

I didn't make it to Harbour Party this year, but heard what a stressful experience it was all everyone.

I feel that the death of the girl from Good Vibrations, along with elections coming up is a strong influence on police action at Harbour Party.

It certainly won't make me feel relaxed at future parties, but I guess what we do all forget, and become complacent about is that drugs are in fact illegal and taking them puts you at a risk of getting caught.

The laws have never changed on drugs, and from past experience the police have been surprisingly relaxed when they knew that party goers around them were taking them.

The gay party scene is notorious for drugs and police have almost always turned a blind eye; maybe we've had it good for too long with bending the rules. If this strict police presence continues at future parties, it's sad to say it could very well affect the experience and the parties success.

Let's hope things die down after the election! In the meantime look out for each other and try to be more discrete if using.

HAPPY MG

[taylor-dayne]

yes, drugs are illegal. but yes, they exist, they are a reality. are we to blindly accept the letter of the law everytime it's presented to us? i think blind idealism is okay when the law suits you and your choices, if you're happy to exist within it's confines - but what about when you're not? sometimes the people need to rally together to make change. mardi gras is a perfect example of how this happened, and if mardi gras party is closed down then i think those of us who have never had to be political before might get a taste of what it feels like to want to stand up for something...

i don't think it's good enough to just say "oh well, drugs are illegal, so don't take them." quite frankly, i like them. they're an important part of our culture, whether you engage with them or not. that's your choice.

handing over complete control of your life over to the police - that's like accepting homophobia at face value, because the law makers say so. sorry, i don't want to live in a police state. i want to be able to make some choices about how i live my life.

this is what comes from opening up the doors to mardi gras party to every tom, dick and harriet. the cat is out of the bag and surprise surprise - people aren't happy about it.

if mardi gras party is closed down it is going to get ugly. i think in many ways the sydney gay community is over feeling like their culture has been revoked. oxford street is a shell of its former self - it has been taken over by do-gooders, homophobes, tedious molls, secretaries and hens nights. people with dollar signs in their eyes have come in and distracted us, and one by one our icons are vanishing... i think we're tired of having no place anymore.

shut down mardi gras party and watch the pot boil over, i say.

[DCBob]

I would like to share my perspective as an American visiting Sydney for the 10th time. I attended the Azure Party in 2005 and again this year and found the police decision to shut down the Azure Party yesterday appalling, shocking, and humiliating. Had they tried that in New York during the annual Gay Pride events, I am sure they would have had a riot on their hands. It is sadly reminiscent of the police raids of gay bars in the pre-Stonewall era, arresting people on drug and sex charges, shutting down the bar, and throwing out ALL the patrons.

I do not take illicit drugs and support the police in stopping the trafficking of such drugs through the use of drug-sniffing dogs and arresting drug users and sellers. But the fact that 26 people are arrested in NO WAY justifies the humiliating treatment given by the police to the other 5,000 innocent and fun-loving partygoers. I was enjoing myself dancing with two friends on the large open air dance floor when the music suddenly stopped and the announcement was made that the police were shutting down the party. No reason whatso ever was given to the patrons. Having paid for two tickets, I find it unacceptable that my hard earned money was being snatched out of my hands by the police, even though I did nothing wrong. And I find demeaning and insulting the ridiculous reason given for shutting the party down -- "to protect the patrons." Thanks, but I don't need THAT kind of protection -- not now and not ever. Do the police also shut down hotels and throw out their patrons because a few of them are caught with drugs in their rooms? I doubt that has ever happened in Sydney.

The Mardi Gras events bring a lot of foreign travelers and dollars to Australia and help boost the economy of the area. Azure is one of those events that help tip the scales in favor of a Sydney holiday. I hope the NSW government realize this was an irresponsible decision, apologize for it, and promise it will not happen again. It has dampened Sydney's well-earned reputation among many of us as a wonderful place to visit and enjoy oneself.

[rmozes]

I have been speaking to a lot of people about this issue and reading the comments in various websites. I have to say that the general consensus is this is (1) A pre election 'look at us, we are doing something' portrayal from the government and authorities and (2) Reaction to the death following the Good Vibrations Festival.

Once could also argue that is discrimination on some level. I believe it is and this should be the focus. Do not focus on the drug issue, but focus on why the police have publicly targeted these events (Gay and Lesbian) and not other events, such as Good Vibrations, Mad Racket, Chinese Laundry and more!

The Good Vibrations Festival had some 35,000 patrons attend and from what I am told, 35 police attending. You had to seek out a police officer. A ratio of 1 Police officers to every 1,000 patrons.

Azure had approx 4,000 patrons and from looking around, I would say there would have been 40 Police officers there. The ratio is massively different.

We know the dogs were there last year, we expected them there this year. The enormous police presence caused distress amongst the patrons as someone has already mentioned, with many deciding to swallow their goods before entering. A silly idea for some as they probably passed out as a result.

Now the threat has been made (as reported on the Sydney Morning Herald Website) that the police will not turn a blind eye this year. Sounds like a pre-election statement.

The most unfortunate thing about this whole debacle is we are indeed being discriminated against. We will have been set back a number of years in Gay and Lesbian 'equal' rights and worst of all, we are going to be known on the International Stage as a city (country) of backward and biased political control and views.

The city of Sydney, The NSW Government and indeed the Federal Government should now go back to their budgets and reduce their tourism forecast for 2008. Many International Guests to our country cannot believe their eyes. Nor can I.

[newzboi]

Well said rmozes! What we are seeing here is a rollback of our rights in an electioneering stunt of so-called family values slung together with the image of law and order. This has little to do with actually catching the dealers and suppliers and more terrorising the gay and lesbian population for the benefit of a vote-swinging public.

And why us? We're an easy win, a shocking headline and at the end of the day - we don't fight back. Not anymore. Not the way we used to.

In Mardi Gras' 26th year, isn't it time we refreshed the same values which spawned the parade?

[Papito-RJ]

I can understand why the police acted under the current political situation and the pressure of acting tough on drugs for voter swing. But let’s see the facts here. The impact of closing (which is doubtful) or causing serious damage to the Mardi Gras party is a bit different from Azure.

• 30 years in the making, which makes it one of the most famous Gay and Lesbian events in the world and foremost a Sydney institution.
• Bringing 46 million dollars annually to Sydney and the state in tourism.
• 20 to 25 thousand partygoers in one night. If police will increase their ratio it will raise eyebrows.
• Strong alliance with the City of Sydney and corporations that pump millions to the city economy.
• And last but not least 220 to 250 thousand queens that live in Sydney like me that can sway MP seats out of the labour government. Not a smart move for Iemma….however…

There is a couple of issues mixed in the incident

• Discrimination against G&L community – That I can say is a mixed reaction as a percentage did not partake in drugs. However the decision in the amount of police at the Harbour Party made a clear statement at attacking a G&L event.
• Drugs are illegal – Be smarter about that...Just because you are in a G&L event that does not mean you are in a law free zone..C’mon I have my fun but I am not parading in the party with like some on Sunday. Quite stupid!!!
• Lack of G&L in political/community affairs – As most of us are concerned of buying an apartment in Potts Point or house in Surry Hills flying to London, Barcelona, Thailand or Mykonos and buying the coolest clothes we do not put our voices and our actions back to the community. For some affiliating to the call of protection of G&L rights is quite passé. Complacency? Call that selfishness? Segregation in our own community? Fear of repression? Is not on the hot list of DNA magazine? I do not know…But this last point is why we are in this situation.

However if the aforementioned situation arises and Mardi Gras is closed on Saturday. That could be the beginning of a mind shift in the G&L community.

At the end of the day …..ACTION SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

[jamieavenger]

Re we are an easy target because we' don't fight back' newzboi, and that Mardi Gras could re think its purpose...

Maybe some truth in that - I am concerned Mardi Gras 2007 seems to be more about pointless floats for some ex- Stock Aitken Waterman pop singer who's an alleged gay icon ( simply because she milks her gay market ) and less about discrimination affecting us now-but I'll reserve my judgement

Azure was a small, high profile party where police knew they could arrest a lot of people in a contained enviroment, given the gay and lesbaian party-going demographic is drug-oriented

Like everyone esle I was pissed off at having to leave early and more pissed off by the fact that you can find 26 people with drugs on them in just about any major CBD nightclub on a Saturday night...

Will straight venues be targeted ( I doubt it)?
If our party culture is so good, why is there such a high dependance on drugs to make it fun? ( that's a question not a judgement)

[daniel_m]

I witnessed one man being escorted out of the azure by what I believe where undercover cops (since they where both wearing rubber gloves and I saw the radio attached to the back of their jeans) I can easily say that the person escorted out looked fine and very much with it. I think it’s unfortunate that this guy was most probably arrested and charged when he was just out to have a good time like most people there (cause lets face it not all people who take drugs are addicts or dealers). Cops disguised as party goes waiting to catch people in the act is not a concern for safety but rather trickery this is what has angered me the most about recent events.

Couldn't agree with you more rmozes in the past 5 years I have been going to straight and gay music festivals I have never seen so many police as I saw at azure compared to the straight equivalent to azure called harbourlife (held in the exact location in November) where there easily would have been about half the amount of police seen at azure. Was azure targeted because it was a gay party? Or was it unfortunate azure was the next party following the death of the girl who attended good vibes?

Also important to note the great job that acon do at our dance parties with the drug rovers. You never such facilities at straight dance parties they seem to get away with having one or two first aid tents and apparently their parties are safe??? Let’s not make this an issue of the prevalence of drugs gay scene because at any given straight music festival or nightclubs I doubt the ratio of drug users would that different to our own. If it seems more prevalent in our scene maybe that’s because we are a more educated scene so lets not be so harsh on our own community.

Have a safe and great mardi gras everyone.

[carolina]

Thanks for ending on a positive note, daniel_m. It sucked that Azure was closed down, but there's no point worrying about being victimised before we see what happens next. So on Saturday night, let's all be safe. Let's watch out for our friends -as we always do. Let's have fun but remember that if our fun isn't legal we should take care and be aware that the police are probably there somewhere in the sea of people. Don't let them wipe the smiles off our faces. Make it big and gorgeous and splashy!! Happy MG xx

[skiwi]

There I was one and a half minutes into my first track, standing at the front of the stage when I heard the sound levels start to drop off…. I raced back to the mixer, everything was fine, I ran down stairs to where the front of house engineers were to check what was going on and witnessed the stage manager call across the emergency microphone “ this party has been closed by the police, please leave the venue in an orderly fashion (or words to that effect).

At that point in time the harsh reality of the situation hit. The announcement was repeated and five thousand people issued their own response “boooooo”; moments latter the heavens opened up and washed away the last sparkle of hope that it was all a mistake.

Turn the clock back a six hours where I was walking to the party towing a box of records and I was greeted by a dog. The dog didn’t seem to pay much attention to the crowd moving decidedly towards the event. I watched people panic; they were going everywhere, moving across the road from the dog, bunching up in groups etc. People around me who were carrying their party favourites immediately took them once they were clear of the dog. This is what I guess you would call a ‘public health risk’. People making a choice to get rid of all and any items in their possession based on fear of incrassation.

I am no stranger to drug raids having worked in our clubs for a decade. Nothing changes… raid after raid, the prices stay the same, and the availability never changes. Occasionally political agendas move ahead public health.

I would ask that you don’t direct your obvious anger at the police. The police are an instrument that acts under instruction of a political state. I had a number of police apologise to me. Most of them could not believe it either.

Thank you to everyone who worked very hard on the party… you knows who you are. Than you to everyone that came to support this charity community event. Thank you to the people who came to hear me play my set that I did not get to play at Manacle latter on that night.

My thoughts are with Mardi Gras and Toybox for next week. It is almost a given that the same kind of activity will be present at these parties.

Remember that when you party, it’s your choices that will ultimately affect others and sometimes the choices of others will affect you. Be safe.
reading different comments in varying media etc we need to calm down change the tampon and not take it out on the police as many are on our side and we need them on our side some people have suggested hissing and booing the police float this would be rather silly and just cause more damage than good. Any way its about time the community had a shake up the drugs have become a source of living instead of some fun from time to time its long overdue the over indulgance stopped.....HAPPY MARDI GRAS its all about LOVE not War people

[Christian Taylor]

here! here! i think the fact that mardi gras started as police brutality and 29 years later is a space where the police can be present at the party, and take part in our parade and for it all to go smoothly - well that's nothing short of miraculous. it would be peevish to boo the police float - that is a dreadful suggestion, whoever has been saying that. while the rocks police were heavy handed, and while people have strong arguments for both sides of the fence, i think the police have been very good to us overall and that needs to be acknowledged.

[jasn]

II can easily say that the person escorted out looked fine and very much with it.

He might of been there on business. 6 of the people arrested had large quantities of drugs on them.

I don't totally disagree with people defending their right to party here. Just don't get overly paranoid. This kind of raid is fairly rare still (and hopefully it will remain rare). Remember that (a lot of the time) the real story behind these drugs involves crime gangs and personal difficulties for some of the people in our community.

[petawb]

Aside from issues of police etc; here's my theory:

Does anyone remember a couple of months ago, there was a huge bust in the Hills District of millions of dollars worth of Ecstacy materials? Well, I'm thinking that it's just caught up with the Sydney drug market.

I work in Alcohol and Other Drug education and I've been told that they can use speed mixed with an array of household goods to achieve a similar 'feeling' to pills, but they can be very poisonous.

I've heard recently that there aren't alot of good pills out there at the moment and people are getting some bad effects. Maybe it's a good idea to be staying away from 'ecstacy' for a little while until these bad pills leave the area.

The police are acting on government policy and I agree with Papito-RJ: if people want to change the actions on drug policy so they actually reflect HARM MINIMISATION rather than zero tolerance, get involved! Write to your local MP, Talk to your local MP, BECOME your local MP!!

It's about time the GLBTI community is truly represented.

[Aries Fairy]

Now that the dust has had a chance to settle, waddya reckon about future AZURE parties?

If AZURE was on again same bat time same bat channel next year, wouldya go??

[jackie87]

I was in Tasmania at the time of the raid and weas notified by text message from a couple of friends I was quite pissed off, the guy criticising the police and Labor Party has to learn that relationships with the police and community should not be under constant strain as they protect us from homophobic thugs and the like. The Labor Party (and most parties actually) are a broad church and the government of the day is influenced by the domination of certain members and unions in the National Executive.

This was in direct response to the death of that young girl who had overdosed and anyone can make changes at a grass roots level if the gay community becomes more politically active. I am a member of the ALP and I can tell you many branch members and some MPs aren't too happy about how we were targeted (mainly due to the right wing domination of the NSW branch thank you the SDA and Joe de Bruyn) but that culminated with the fact that it is election time and that girls death doesn't spell out such a rosy picture, but we can all have our voice heard through our votes and if we can stand for parliament whether it be local, state or federal.

I doubt this will happen next year, but I do remind people to be mindful when using party drugs which I am in favour of harm minimisation.