The Yarra Ranges Council added the Australian flag to its internal digital and printed communications alongside the already existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at the 10 June council meeting.
But some community members and councillors were unhappy with the order of the flags, as the Australian flag would come after the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
It comes after local RSLs and community members called for the addition of the national flag to acknowledge the personal sacrifice of those who served the country underneath the one flag.
Yarra Ranges mayor Jim Child emphasised that the updated flag policy addressed the inclusion of the Australian flag alongside the council’s Acknowledgement of Country.
“We proudly display our flags at the civic centre, and in the chamber, and council believes this now needs to be reflected in some of our printed and digital material to ensure that we are creating an inclusive community which values the strength of our diversity and rich heritage with respect and acceptance,” Cr Child said.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags sit next to the Acknowledgement of Country as the statement acknowledges the Indigenous Australians who lived on and with the land prior to European colonisation in 1788.
But registered speaker Belinda Bernadini spoke to the item and claimed positioning the Australian flag after the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags was “simply exploitation disguised as advocacy”.
“It’s time Australians called it out for what it is, a corruption of purpose that serves the elite, not the people,” she said.
She said the decision would further entrench division among the Australian people and that the council “can’t claim to honour one history while attempting to erase or disregard another.”
Cr Tim Heenan said the council acted on advice from its Indigenous Advisory Committee after the original request to include the flag was made, which was to include the national flag after the first two flags.
Cr Jeff Marriott also pointed out that the choice to include the Australian flag after the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags was a step forward as he hadn’t seen the Australian flag located next to an Acknowledgement of Country in Australia.
“I think it’s actually quite fitting in terms of, if we’re acknowledging the traditional owners, their flags are first. Then through history the Australian flag has been developed, and I think from that point of view, it’s actually a step forward,” Cr Marriott said.
Not all councillors were on board with the positioning of the flag however, as Cr Mitch Mazzarella attempted to move an alternate motion which would put the Australian flag first before those representing Indigenous Australians.
He said the original motion was at odds with advice from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in regards to appropriate display of national flags and that it “take the rule books and rip it in half.”
The Australian Flags booklet states the Australian flag should be flown with precedence over other flags from left to right.
“Not putting the Australian flag there is a slap in the face to the rule book, to our veterans and to all those who fought under our national flag,” Cr Mazzarella said.
But director of corporate services Vincenzo Lombardi said the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet confirmed there was no specific advice, legislation or policy for the ordering of the flags.
“In the absence of such advice, they had recommended replicating the order of precedence, as described in the Australian Flags booklet. However, this recommendation doesn’t take into consideration council’s Acknowledgement of Country statement or council’s ongoing efforts to support reconciliation,” Mr Lombadi said.
As the council had sought specific advice from the Indigenous Advisory Committee, this advice took precedence over the generalised advice given by the Australian Flags booklet.
The meaning behind the Australian flag is dependent on the person and Cr Peter Mcilwain said this meant strict guidelines which ignored context was dangerous.
He warned of “jingoism”, a word to describe an aggressive form of patriotism, when referring to the meaning of the national flag.
“The Australian flag can mean many things to many people. It can be a flag of gathering to right-wing extremists, as well as it can be a unifying symbol.
“If we make strict guidelines around what flag we should have and shouldn’t have, and what order it should be, and who’s more important than somebody else, we’re not actually understanding that the flag means different things in different contexts to different people.”
“We do need a policy on the flags, that’s important, and we do need to have a decision about how we present the flags, I agree with that. But I think we need to have a little bit of reality injected into this because the flag means so many different things in so many different contexts,” Cr Mcilwain said.
Cr Child closed the discussion and said to have the Australian flag next to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags should be celebrated as a source of immense national pride.
“We were officially approached by the Lilydale RSL as well for this inclusion and here we are tonight taking that course on as a council but also with the approval of the Indigenous Advisory Council as well.”
The motion to adopt the new flag policy with the Australian flag position after the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags was passed eight votes to one.
