Just tell truth
lia Day from their list of official days. He urged local councils to maintain their focus on core business and with this I wholeheartedly agree with him.
So to all those good and courageous citizens who have put their names forward for election in October I have one very simple and easily fulfilled request.
If you have any personal agenda which is outside the remit of council then please let me know about it in advance.
I mention this as from the research I have done I cannot see one mention in the pre-election statements of either the Yarra or Darebin councillors to vote on not celebrating Australia Day.
Yet both have now done so and have also quite rightly been stripped of their ability to hold Australian citizenship ceremonies.
My thoughts on moving Australia Day are well known as I am very comfortable with the current date and what it signifies but this piece isn’t really about the extremely small minority who want it changed but rather is about what I expect my councillors to concentrate on — ME.
I mentioned I want honest souls as my council candidates and this honesty I expect to be manifested through disclosure of potential hidden agendas.
If you want to make Geelong a nuclear-free zone I’d appreciate knowing this in advance.
Similarly if you have any inclination to fly a rainbow or republican flag over City Hall, vote to change Australia Day, ban all goods from North Korea or WeetBix because Sanitarium is wholly owned by the Seventh Day Adventist church, tell me before I vote for you.
Thinking of removing the botanic gardens bronze memorial statue of Queen Victoria just because she presided over the greatest colon- isation the world has ever seen? Then do me the courtesy of letting me know in advance. I would appreciate your honesty in being upfront about these things and in a similar spirit I will be equally upfront and tell you now I won’t be voting for you. I won’t be voting for you not necessarily because I agree or disagree with any of the above but simply because none of them are any of your business or are beyond your ability to effect change. So as likely as it seems that’s why I am in wholehearted agreement with a Liberal, Eric Abetz, and his pithy comment that council’s are “elected to collect rubbish, not talk rubbish”. Out of interest, as a contribution to the Australia Day date change, I do have a solution that would satisfy both sides of that debate. Set up a committee of all the groups that represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, include leaders from the Socialist Democratic Alliance and give them the task to decide on a new date to celebrate the birth of a nation. Given previous history they will never be able to agree — thus allowing January 26 to retain its rightful place.