Australia Day switch snag
COUNCILS in the Geelong region either opposed or abstained from a controversial municipal lobby vote on moving the date of Australia Day.
A national meeting of representatives from 560 local councils narrowly backed a plan this week to lobby the Federal Government to move the patriotic day from January 26. The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) said yesterday its board would consider what action to take at a meeting in July.
Surf Coast Shire mayor Brian McKiterick said he was not in a position to vote on the subject as it had not been covered at a council level.
“Surf Coast Shire was one of many delegates to abstain from voting on this motion. Councillors had not discussed this important topic and therefore I was not in a position to participate in the vote,” he said.
Golden Plains Shire mayor Des Phelan and chief executive Rod Nicholls also did not participate in the vote because the council had not considered the matter.
But Colac Otway mayor Chris Potter voted against a proposal to change the date of Australia Day.
“I voted this way because our council has not had a chance to discuss this as a group, nor have we had a chance to discuss such a change with our community,” Cr Potter said.
“Further, there was no clear proposal at the conference about the preferred alternative date.”
No representatives from the City of Greater Geelong were present to take part in the vote.
Earlier this year, administration chairwoman Kathy Alexander hit the headlines when she expressed sympathy for Australians uneasy with the January 26 commemoration.
“However, I personally understand and empathise with the feelings of our indigenous people about celebrat- ing the beginning of Australia on a date that marks the colonisation of what was originally their land by another country,” Dr Alexander said.
“For them, 26 January 1788 marked the beginning of a long and dark period in our nation’s history. And since the historic Mabo decision of 1992, the British colonisation of much of our land has been proven to be illegal.”