Australia Day vote anger

HOBART Lord Mayor Sue Hickey says the “historic” Australia Day vote at the Local Government Association of Tasmania meeting is now “tainted” following Kingborough Mayor Steve Wass admitting he voted against the motion.

This was despite his council planning to support it.

Hobart’s motion was defeated by a single vote at last month’s LGAT general meetLGAT ing, after earlier passing at the Australian Local Government Association national general assembly in Canberra by two votes.

The slightly amended motion sought to have the and the 29 councils, and any individual elected members, lobby the Federal Government to “start a conversation” with the public about the date of Australia Day.

But in response to a question without notice at a full council meeting this week, Cr Wass revealed he used Kingborough’s three votes to oppose the motion.

Kingborough had agreed to support Hobart’s original motion, which omitted the reference to a public conversation, and instead called for direct lobbying of the Government.

Cr Wass told the Mercury he believed the changes meant the council no longer supported it.

“We hadn’t discussed a conversation with the Australian public,” he said. “It was really against the position we held and hence I voted against it.”

Ald Hickey said she would write to the LGAT to clarify the situation and flagged Hobart putting up the motion again.

“The councils are members, the mayors are only representatives and their votes should reflect the will of their council,” she said. “This was a historic vote and the outcome is now tainted.”

It comes as Assistant Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke formally wrote to all 547 councils across Australia warning them that if they tested the Government “with politically motivated public attacks on Australia Day” they would be punished.

Ald Hickey said: “We simply want a discussion on the appropriateness of celebrating Australia Day on a day that has ever-growing protests because it is not inclusive of all Australians.”