The City of Sydney has committed to giving further support to local LGBTQ+ businesses, after councillors backed a motion calling for deeper dialogue with queer venues, traders and community groups along Oxford Street, King Street and surrounding precincts.
The move has also raised a timely question closer to home: could Auckland take a similar approach for Aotearoa’s own queer business and nightlife hubs, particularly around Karangahape Road?
The Sydney motion was raised by Cr Olly Arkins at Tuesday evening’s council meeting and called for a roundtable with LGBTQ+ businesses across Newtown and Erskineville. The discussion would be hosted alongside Inner West Council, with community stakeholders such as the Pride Business Association also involved.
“By bringing everyone together, we can talk about what’s working so well and how we can harness to keep it, to keep building momentum, and how we can proactively respond to challenges with practical support,” Arkins said.
Arkins also proposed a similar roundtable for businesses on and around Oxford Street, including AsheMorgan, the developer responsible for city-owned buildings along the northern side of the strip.
Cr Adam Worling seconded the motion, speaking about his own connection to queer Sydney and the long history of LGBTQIA+ life in both Newtown and Erskineville.
“Newtown and Erskineville have been LGBTQIA+ precincts since the early 1980s. I know — I was there. In today’s clickbait-driven world, supposedly, the end is near because one club closed on Oxford Street and reopened in Newtown,” he said.
“It’s not a death, it’s an evolution.
“We don’t need Inner West Councillors — I won’t name them — who boast about Newtown being the new Oxford Street. This does not benefit Sydney’s rich and diverse queer community or quite simply, Sydney’s queerest capital. Why can’t we have both now?”
Worling said recent conversations with Oxford Street business owners pointed to positive signs for the Pink Mile. Universal Group, which owns venues including the Imperial Erskineville and Oxford Hotel, has recently taken out a new 25-year lease on a property. Combined with new outdoor dining laws, the recent bike lane and Pride month approaching, he argued Oxford Street was far from finished.
Oxford Street continues despite talk of decline
The motion follows ongoing concern within the community about the future of Oxford Street, particularly after the closures of long-running institutions including Stonewall and The Bookshop Darlinghurst, which had operated for 28 and 43 years respectively.
Locals have also pointed to years of construction delays linked to the $200 million Oxford and Foley redevelopment, saying reduced foot traffic has placed pressure on surrounding businesses.
Recent reporting from the Daily Telegraph claimed vacancy rates on the historic strip were close to one in three, well above Sydney’s CBD average of 4.3%.
However, the City of Sydney continues to invest in the area, including through plans to heritage-list several sites along the street. The move forms part of the City’s Oxford Street LGBTIQA+ Social and Cultural Place Strategy, developed after years of community consultation to recognise historic queer spaces, increase visibility and support the precinct as a thriving hub for LGBTQIA+ life.
“The alleged demise of Oxford Street has been going on for decades, yet the street still kicks on,” Worling told Star Observer. “There is no doubt some businesses have moved on though there are businesses that are prospering and expanding and I would like to focus on that aspect.
“I welcome the roundtables as an opportunity to speak with key businesses and hear how they see the evolution of Oxford Street and at the same time what TOGA’s approach is to ensure that new businesses — queer or not queer — are queer engaged.”
Meanwhile, King Street in Newtown is increasingly being seen as another hub for queer Sydneysiders, with the recent opening of Stonewall Newtown drawing strong crowds and the Newtown Hotel returning to community hands.
Could Auckland follow Sydney’s lead?
In Aotearoa, the obvious comparison is Karangahape Road, long recognised as a central home for Auckland’s rainbow communities. Auckland Council installed the city’s first Progress Pride rainbow crossing on Karangahape Road in 2021, in front of St Kevin’s Arcade, acknowledging the area’s connection to LGBTQIA+ visibility and community life.
Auckland Council also continues to support rainbow programming through initiatives such as Proud Centres, with 45 council venues hosting Pride activations and 130 free Auckland Pride Festival events across Tāmaki Makaurau in February 2026.
There is already some formal structure for rainbow engagement in the city. Auckland Council adopted Rainbow Communities Engagement Guidelines in 2016, and the council’s Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel has previously gathered community feedback on issues including visibility, safety, spaces, events and venues.
However, there does not appear to be a directly comparable Auckland Council roundtable specifically focused on LGBTQ+ businesses in Karangahape Road and the surrounding precincts. With K’ Road continuing to play a major role in Auckland’s queer nightlife, arts and hospitality scenes, Sydney’s approach may offer a model worth watching — or adapting — for Aotearoa.
