I'd like to thank the many that wrote in ahead of our February 2025 Council Meeting, on both sides of this issue, addressed either to myself directly or to multiple Councillors. But there is that word - "sides" - that is at the core of this issue.
There are people that want support for Australia Day to celebrates our nation as it is today - multicultural, independent, free speech, democracy. Celebrating our modern country as it is, warts and all, knowing there is always more to do. Or maybe just a public holiday and a barbeque as the new year gets under way and it's mid-summer.
There are people who oppose that support for Australia Day - based principally on the date that it has been allocated by Federal government. Most I have heard from are OK with Australia Day in itself as an event, and would be happy to celebrate it if only it were not designated for January 26th.
Factually, January 26th 1788 is a historical marker - the date British soldiers landed on a Sydney beach and planted a British flag in the ground. I agree that it marks the beginning of the end for First Nations society. In the 200+ years since, much of First Nations culture has been desecrated and lost. That is a tragedy, similar to cultural destruction that has happened many times around the world ever since societies have formed.
Surf Coast Shire has an enviable track record in pursuing reconciliation, and I look forward to that continuing. Marking January 26th as a reminder of what has been lost is emotional, educational, and social. Attending the Pilk Purriyn event on the Torquay foreshore is well worth the time, regardless of political or cultural persuasion.
I do believe the intent of the motion seeking to equally offer support to Australia Day events is not to stop, redirect or slow the reconciliation journey in any way. The intent is to provide that equal support to those in our community that want and need a positive recognition of the great country we live in.
It was a past Prime Minister that formally assigned a nationwide public holiday to Australia Day of January 26. It is for today's Prime Minister to make a change and fix this issue for us all. It really is a simple fix.
I encourage everyone - individuals, organisations, institutions - to join together to 'change the date to a day', and make Australia Day always a long weekend in January ie. no longer tied to a specific date. I ask everyone to put the pressure where it is truly needed; on the Prime Minister of Australia to 'change the date to a day', and to fix this issue.
I voted against the motion referred to, in spite of agreeing with the intention to offer equitable support for Australia Day by Surf Coast Shire. I did so in the interests of good governance. Our community should expect all Councillors to be aware of the full range of aspects and impacts of important and highly-charged decisions such as this.
Accordingly, I am OK with a deferral to a future Council meeting, to allow that good governance to happen, and be seen to happen. Councillors will have had the opportunity to go through localised cultural awareness plus Council officers will have provided a report on the ramifications, pros and cons of making such a change.
I will add that reconciliation is a journey to togetherness, and I would like to see efforts made to understand the intent of this motion, and good-faith acceptance that it takes 2 to tango, with compromise an essential part of making progress. There is a world of difference between the word "reconciliation" and the word "capitulation". It is our personal choice to be offended by something, and our personal choice how we behave in response.
Making a change to Surf Coast Shire's position is not something that deserves an automatic knee-jerk reaction to decry it. I encourage all involved to seek the solution, not the roadblock.
I look forward to this motion returning to Council in the near future, and to a fully-informed decision by Councillors at that time.
I sincerely hope that by then Australia Day has been moved away from January 26.