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Debate ignites over Indigenous flag removal in NSW council

A move by a regional NSW council to no longer have the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in its chambers sends "not a very nice message", a councillor believes. The Federation Council in the state's Murray region is seeking opinion on the draft change, which mayor Cheryl Cook backed. Cr Cook said she had "very strong feedback" from the community that only the Australian flag should be displayed in the Corowa and Urana chambers. Councillors voted 5-4 for its updated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols to include the wording "council commits to exclusively fly the Australian flag within the council chamber during official sessions and on all flagpoles located across the Federation Council area". However, it would commit to flying the Indigenous flags on municipal poles during NAIDOC and Reconciliation weeks. Cr Cook said limiting the display of flags to the Blue Ensign chamber "ensures a clear expression of civic neutrality" with a focus "on the proceedings of the legislative responsibilities of this council which are carried out to the benefit of all citizens, equally under the law". "I've had very strong feedback in this regard that it is timely that we here today seek a more unified culture for all and that is our shared Aussie identity spirit," Cr Cook said after noting a "little over 97 per cent of council's population do not identify as Indigenous". Councillor David Harrison said the Indigenous flags had been on show for a number of years in the chambers and their potential removal "sends a different message and it's not a very nice message". "I've never seen the flags as divisive," Cr Harrison said at the meeting held in Urana on November 18. "I don't clutch my pearls and say 'that's a divisive thing', I actually see it as a celebration, as a recognition. "Not 10 kilometres from here there was a 30,000-year-old Aboriginal skeleton discovered from a person that lived here 30,000 years ago when Lake Urana was the garden of Eden. "That predates us by a long time, it predates the pyramids, it predates religion, I think waving the flag is just a small recognition of that." However, councillor David Bott defended the Australian flag, which includes Britain's national banner. "I'm of the firm belief that the Australian flag is the best flag to represent all of the community," Cr Bott said. "If we actually look at the Australian flag, it actually pays homage to all people that have been, from the early settlers, the Aboriginals, the early inhabitants of the country. "We've got the Union Jack up in the left hand corner which pays tribute to the colonisation of Australia, it's also provided us with the Westminster system, it's actually enabling us to have this debate here today in the chamber. "The Southern Cross, the very first inhabitants of this land would have walked it and looked up at night, going back to the millenniums and saw the Southern Cross, so there's recognition there and there's also recognition in the colour of the flag. "All migrants regardless of what their background, they've contributed an enormous amount to the society that we call Australia today. "They've all had to travel across the oceans to live here. "I believe it's the one flag that actually represents Australia in its best form and as such I think it's the only flag we really need to display in the council chambers but also on the flagpoles around Federation Council." Councillor Susan Wearne noted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander banners had been declared official flags of Australia as part of a 1995 amendment to the Flag Act of 1953. Former mayor Pat Bourke likened the Aboriginal flag's appearance in the chamber to photographs of past councillors. "It signifies the First Australians of this great country, just as those photos signify people that represented this shire," Cr Bourke said. He was among the four who voted against the proposed changes to protocols, which also included welcome to country ceremonies, joining deputy mayor Rowena Black, Cr Wearne and Cr Harrison. Those in favour were Cr Cook, Cr Bott and councillors Derek Schoen, Richard Nixon and Andrew Kennedy.

Anthony Bunn •
Debate ignites over Indigenous flag removal in NSW council

A move by a regional NSW council to no longer have the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in its chambers sends "not a very nice message", a councillor believes. The Federation Council in the state's Murray region is seeking opinion on the draft change, which mayor Cheryl Cook backed. Cr Cook said she had "very strong feedback" from the community that only the Australian flag should be displayed in the Corowa and Urana chambers. Councillors voted 5-4 for its updated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols to include the wording "council commits to exclusively fly the Australian flag within the council chamber during official sessions and on all flagpoles located across the Federation Council area". However, it would commit to flying the Indigenous flags on municipal poles during NAIDOC and Reconciliation weeks. Cr Cook said limiting the display of flags to the Blue Ensign chamber "ensures a clear expression of civic neutrality" with a focus "on the proceedings of the legislative responsibilities of this council which are carried out to the benefit of all citizens, equally under the law". "I've had very strong feedback in this regard that it is timely that we here today seek a more unified culture for all and that is our shared Aussie identity spirit," Cr Cook said after noting a "little over 97 per cent of council's population do not identify as Indigenous". Councillor David Harrison said the Indigenous flags had been on show for a number of years in the chambers and their potential removal "sends a different message and it's not a very nice message". "I've never seen the flags as divisive," Cr Harrison said at the meeting held in Urana on November 18. "I don't clutch my pearls and say 'that's a divisive thing', I actually see it as a celebration, as a recognition. "Not 10 kilometres from here there was a 30,000-year-old Aboriginal skeleton discovered from a person that lived here 30,000 years ago when Lake Urana was the garden of Eden. "That predates us by a long time, it predates the pyramids, it predates religion, I think waving the flag is just a small recognition of that." However, councillor David Bott defended the Australian flag, which includes Britain's national banner. "I'm of the firm belief that the Australian flag is the best flag to represent all of the community," Cr Bott said. "If we actually look at the Australian flag, it actually pays homage to all people that have been, from the early settlers, the Aboriginals, the early inhabitants of the country. "We've got the Union Jack up in the left hand corner which pays tribute to the colonisation of Australia, it's also provided us with the Westminster system, it's actually enabling us to have this debate here today in the chamber. "The Southern Cross, the very first inhabitants of this land would have walked it and looked up at night, going back to the millenniums and saw the Southern Cross, so there's recognition there and there's also recognition in the colour of the flag. "All migrants regardless of what their background, they've contributed an enormous amount to the society that we call Australia today. "They've all had to travel across the oceans to live here. "I believe it's the one flag that actually represents Australia in its best form and as such I think it's the only flag we really need to display in the council chambers but also on the flagpoles around Federation Council." Councillor Susan Wearne noted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander banners had been declared official flags of Australia as part of a 1995 amendment to the Flag Act of 1953. Former mayor Pat Bourke likened the Aboriginal flag's appearance in the chamber to photographs of past councillors. "It signifies the First Australians of this great country, just as those photos signify people that represented this shire," Cr Bourke said. He was among the four who voted against the proposed changes to protocols, which also included welcome to country ceremonies, joining deputy mayor Rowena Black, Cr Wearne and Cr Harrison. Those in favour were Cr Cook, Cr Bott and councillors Derek Schoen, Richard Nixon and Andrew Kennedy.

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