Maxi Shield Leading The Charge

Local News, By Christian Taylor, 9th October, 2007

So we all know that Oxford Street is not the place it once was. The straight clubs have moved in, and with binge drinking, poor security practices and thousands of people on the streets every weekend, it’s a recipe for disaster, especially for the gay community.

Thanks to local drag queen Maxi Shield, Police Minister David Campbell and Lord Mayor Clover Moore hit the streets on the weekend to see the state of the strip first hand. The group wandered through the back alleys and up the so called ‘golden mile’ and while they didn’t come across any homophobic violence, both Campbell and Moore are convinced the area has changed substantially.

“As larger venues have sprung up many people from outside Oxford Street have begun to come in on weekends… Nowadays there are about 10,000 people [here] on Friday and Saturday nights,” Moore told the Sun Herald.

The stats speak for themselves. According to police, up to nine individual homophobic attacks have happened this year, compared to last year’s two. That’s a pretty massive jump.

Campbell said he’s taking it seriously, although on the walk all he saw were “some very colourful people and a lot of people out enjoying themselves.”

It’s a far cry from the abuse that Maxi faces regularly on the strip. There’s nothing colourful about being pelted with eggs and being spat on.

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