11-07-2025
Failure of Voice gives 'green light' to councils to roll back Indigenous rights
There are fresh claims about racism in local government after a regional Victorian councillor publicly questioned whether the British Empire ever invaded Australia, during a council meeting last month.
The comment comes after a series of decisions by councils across the state that have left Indigenous communities feeling disrespected.
A number of councils have reversed decisions about funding Australia Day celebrations and one council recently removed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from its website without community consultation.
Activists and academics say it is indicative of a larger cultural shift following the Voice to Parliament referendum.
At a public meeting in June, Moyne Shire Councillor Susan Taylor suggested the removal of all references to traditional owners in the council's five-year plan.
The term appears twice within the plan as part of a list of council's aspirations, one of which is to "strengthen relationships with traditional owners and First Nations communities".
Cr Taylor said the phrasing "morally binds" council to support Victoria's treaty process, which she believed was "tilting the state towards authoritarianism".
In the same meeting, fellow councillor Jim Doukas said he found it "disturbing" that council's health and wellbeing report mentioned "invasion".
"I don't know of any invasion that took place," Cr Doukas said in the meeting.
"Could you identify what land was stolen? Because I find it objectionable that he might be accusing me of living on my land being stolen."
The debate about settlement or invasion rests on European international law of the time and the concept of terra nullius (the land of no-one), which was overturned by the Mabo decision in 1992.
University of Melbourne deputy vice-chancellor (Indigenous) Barry Judd said the comments from both councillors attempted to erase historical truths about colonisation.
Professor Judd pointed to the final report from the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first formal truth-telling process into the impact of colonisation on First Nations people in Victoria.
"The commission has told a story of colonial dispossession, the massacre of Indigenous people, many of those, of course, occurred in western Victoria, and attempts to erase the existence of Indigenous people across the country that is now called Victoria," he said.
"When councils make changes like those to not refer to Indigenous Australians, I think it's part of an attempt to continue the lies of Australian history that this place was a terra nullius."
One of the key battlegrounds for the growing pushback against Indigenous recognition has been Australia Day.
Colac Otway Shire Council is the latest of a number of Victorian councils that have reversed decisions about funding events on the country's national holiday.
In May, Colac Mayor Jason Schram raised a motion to return community awards ceremonies to January 26 — using his casting vote to adopt the proposal — despite a councillor's proposed amendment and some councillors being absent.
In a letter published in the Colac-Herald newspaper after the meeting, a resident criticised the mayor's use of a casting vote on a non-urgent matter, describing it as "poor governance".
At the time, a council spokesperson told the ABC the mayor had a level of discretion over the use of a casting vote and there was no requirement to revisit the decision.
The move mirrors several other councils that have reinstated January 26 celebrations in recent years, including Geelong City Council, Shepparton City Council and Strathbogie Shire Council.
Earlier this year, images of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags disappeared from the Warrnambool City Council website without community consultation.
A council spokesperson said the decision was prompted by queries from the public about why the Australian flag was not displayed.
Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta woman Keicha Day said making the decision behind closed doors lacked integrity.
"The reason why our elders got organisations to include the Aboriginal flag was to let us know as children whether that service was safe or not.
"Being raised in a community, if we didn't see a flag or artwork or something in a mainstream service, that's how you knew not to go there because it's not culturally safe."
The images of the flags were reinstated in June after residents requested their return.
Ms Day has spent years trying to get nearby Glenelg Shire Council to remove colonial monuments and rename public assets honouring colonial settlers.
A number of these sites are named for the Henty brothers and Major Thomas Mitchell, who were the overseers of men who murdered dozens of Indigenous people in a number of massacres.
"When we come with a reasonable request like don't glorify genocidal maniacs, they will then hide behind their majority constituents," Ms Day said.
Ms Day said Reconciliation Action Plans were one way to hold councils to account, but they were not legally binding, and not all councils had one.
She is hoping the Yoorrook Justice Commission and state treaty negotiations provide recommendations to make councils more consistent in how they handle issues that impact First Nations people.
"I'll be really interested to see what comes out of the truth-telling process around councils, but also how treaty intends to tackle the council issue," Ms Day said.
Professor Judd said the result of the referendum on the Voice to Parliament had enabled more individuals and organisations to espouse what he described as discriminatory behaviour.
"I do think these [council] decisions empower people to be more explicit and open in their racist ideas about Indigenous Australians and we've seen that in the aftermath of the Voice referendum," Professor Judd said.
