Geelong council backflips on Australia Day stance

A SOLEMN crowd gathered outside City Hall tonight (Tuesday, December 10) after the City of Greater Geelong council passed a motion to begin walking back last year’s decision to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day.

The motion, introduced by Cr Eddy Kontelj and passed seven votes to four, called for chief executive Ali Wastie to prepare a report for next month’s meeting that will outline the process by which the council will return to commemorating the date and discontinue any advocacy that the date of Australia Day be changed.

It marks the second time in less than 12 months that Cr Kontelj has raised concerns about the community’s support for the changes, after he put forward a motion in December last year calling for additional community consultation.

“This notice of motion will not sit comfortably with a portion of the community,” Cr Kontelj said this evening.

“It’s not intended to be disrespectful to anyone in the community, including our First Nations people, but I also accept that some will see it that way.”

He said the purpose of the motion was to “simply confirm” the proclamation of the date for Australia Day is the responsibility of the federal government, and claimed his own support last year for the council to alter its approach to January 26 was ill-informed.

“It was not apparent to some of us that what we were actually doing was putting council in the position where we would no longer be acknowledging or recognising Australia Day on any day or any date,” he said.

The meeting was attended by a large group of protesters, who stood and turned their backs to Cr Kontelj while he was speaking.

A small contingent also stood in support of the motion, and as the tension in the room increased, both groups directed insults at each other.

Cr Emma Sinclair proposed an alternate motion during tonight’s meeting, urging the council to stand by last year’s resolution.

It was voted down, again seven votes to four, with Crs Wilkinson, Aitken and Cadwell all in support.

“There has been progress to reconciliation,” Cr Sinclair said.

“Please don’t let this council be the group that closes that door.

“I’m worried that we’ve begun to confuse making informed and ethical decisions with making a decision that has popular consensus.”

She said it was incumbent upon the council to lead the conversation and invite the broader community to walk with them towards reconciliation.

“If we have not done this work as promised, then it is our failing. We have not brought the community along with us and it is no wonder that there is continued resistance within some sections of the community.”

Each councillor took the opportunity to speak during the debate, with Cr Aitken warning his fellow councillors of the motion’s impact on the First Nations community.

“I think it will take a very long time for our First Nations people in Geelong to heal from this and it will take a very long time for them to participate again in the City of Greater Geelong’s activities in this particular area,” he said.

Speaking outside City Hall after the vote, Greens member for Western Victoria and former Geelong councillor Sarah Mansfield called the decision a “slap in the face”.

“Progress can’t be assumed. We can’t take it for granted, we can’t rest on our laurels…all it takes is basically a change in local government and everything is undone,” she said.