An inner-west Sydney council has voted to remove the Aboriginal flag from outside its chambers, marking the body’s latest pushback against Indigenous displays within its jurisdiction.
News24 can reveal Strathfield Council is printing a new council flag to stand alongside the Australian and NSW state flag near the War Memorial outside Strathfield Town Hall after voting in favour of a motion put forward in June.
Liberal Councillor Esther Kim, who has since been elected Deputy Mayor, moved the motion to install two new flagpoles at the site.
Cr Kim pushed for an official council flag, with the option of raising another nation’s flag in the event of a diplomatic visit.
One independent councillor argued it is “improper” to put another nation’s flag near a World War I and World War II Memorial.
Fellow Liberal and former Strathfield Mayor John-Paul Baladi backed Cr Kim’s move but proposed three flagpoles instead of four, replacing the Aboriginal flag with a council flag.
Two Labor councillors voted against the motion, that was carried, “in accordance with any State or Federal protocol or guidelines”.
In response to the vote, Cr Baladi told News24.com.au: “The national flag represents all Australians no matter their creed or colour, and there are few things more unifying. It is the flag for which countless Australians have sacrificed and fought for our freedoms, and so the National flag ought to always take pride of place.”
Labor councillor Rory Nosworthy said: “Liberals are busy removing symbols of Strathfield’s Aboriginal history, while residents complain about illegal dumping and stray cats”
The move follows another council decision to remove an Indigenous acknowledgment from six entry signs that line the local government area.
They pay tribute to the area’s First Nations community with the phrase, “Always was, always will be Wangal Country”.
Cr Baladi led the charge to alter the signs which he argues are “divisive”.
“Allowing these divisive signs to stay up is not in the interests of the people of Strathfield,” he told News24.
“That kind of divisive, political language doesn’t belong on our welcome signs and it is my view that this virtue signalling should stay out of local government.”
Initially, council staff were directed to cover the acknowledgment with black plastic and tape until a replacement could be determined.
A report on the matter is due in the coming months.
News24 has since seen the wording taken off entirely, with small holes left behind in the sandstone.
The signs were put up by the previous Labor-dominated council at a cost of about $400,000.
“We need to get political activism out of local government,” Cr Baladi argued.
Another of Cr Kim’s motions has also generated discussion.
Businesses are now required to prominently display English on shopfronts, alongside other languages.
Cr Kim migrated to Australia from Korea almost 40 years ago.
“We have many migrants coming in and they insist on speaking their languages,” Cr Kim said.
“We need some discipline.”
She says the mandate would help to bring the community together.
“My motion is not assimilation, it is to use two cultures together,” Cr Kim said.
“If they put some English together, everyone will understand what is going on.”
At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Cr Kim was elected Strathfield’s new Deputy Mayor, with fellow Liberal and former Deputy Sandy Reddy elected Mayor.
Labor councillor Rory Nosworthy said forcing businesses to change their signage is “an added cost that is poorly timed” in a cost-of-living crisis.
“There is a certain authenticity of going to a Chinese restaurant with a Chinese sign and having authentic Chinese food,” he said.
“It is a concerning step to police communication, to police language.”
Cr Nosworthy could not attend the meeting which determined the future of the acknowledgment signs but launched a petition to rescind the move.
It gathered more than 800 signatures but did not change the outcome of last Tuesday’s meeting.
“It is a fact of history and all of our community, diverse as it is, are happy to acknowledge the First Nations, previous owners of this land,” he said.
The moves have sparked fierce debate in one of Sydney’s most multicultural communities.
Strathfield is a highly diverse, growth corridor.
More than half of the population are born overseas, from countries such as India, China and Nepal.
More than 70 per cent of households speak a non-English language at home, with the most common being Mandarin.
“Local councils are best placed to consider the needs and views of their local communities when developing local policies,” NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said in a statement.
Read related topics:NSW Politics