Kingborough Council Motion carried to Change the Date!

CHANGE THE DATE – MOTION CARRIED

That Council supports:
1. Changing the date of Australia Day; and
2. LGAT lobbying the federal government for changing the date of Australia Day.

Motion carried. Kingborough Council 26 June 2017.

I voted in favour of this motion and have spoken about this publicly including at the Invasion Day March in Hobart on 26 January 2017.

I believe that:

– local government has a role play in raising issues of concern to our municipality

– working towards changing the date does not distract from the tragedy of substance abuse and domestic violence in aboriginal communities and that showing care and respect for aboriginal people can only aid finding solutions to these other issues

– Council can form policy without formal consultation. As elected members chosen by our community we can form an opinion that will be guided by our interaction with residents both personally and through our role as councillors.